Rafael Nadal has officially announced his withdrawal from the upcoming French Open.
The Spaniard is still battling a psoas injury that he picked up at the Australian Open four months ago.
Nadal also hinted at retirement as he said he would try to play in 2024, believing it could be the final year of his career.
Nadal has officially withdrawn from the French Open for the first time in his career as he admitted it would be “impossible” to play the tournament during a press conference at his academy.
“I won’t be able to play at Roland Garros,” the 14-time champion in Paris said.
“It’s not a decision I made, it’s a decision my body made,” he added.
Nadal also threw the rest of his career into doubt as he confirmed that he wouldn’t be able to compete for the next few months before revealing that 2024 would likely be his last year on tour. “I won’t be playing for the next few months,” he continued.
“On a personal level, day to day work, things are difficult. It’s difficult to be deprived of what’s a big part of your life.”
The 22-time Grand Slam champion then looked ahead to a potential comeback at the Davis Cup before likely retiring next season.
He continued: “I hope to be ready for the Davis Cup, and I want to play in 2024, which should be the last year of my career. I want to be able to enjoy it and to say goodbye to tournaments that I want.”
Nadal also revealed that his body had struggled in practice sessions since the pandemic, as he was unable to follow his training schedule. “I have not been able to enjoy my diary work since after the pandemic. My body was not able to hold the practices,” he confessed.
“Too many days of practising but with too much pain.” Nadal said he would stop for a few months to give himself the best chance of returning pain-free in 2024 but did not know how long he would be away from the tennis court.
