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Rafael Nadal will miss the French Open for the first time since his debut in 2005 after the 14-time champion announced on Thursday that he has withdrawn from the tournament due to injury, adding that “next year is my last year” in professional tennis.
The Spaniard suffered a hip injury in his Australian Open second-round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald in January and initially said he hopes to be fit again in six to eight weeks.
However, in an update posted to social media on April 20 and then on Thursday, the 22-time Grand Slam champion said his recovery process was taking longer than expected.
Nadal also revealed that he will be away from court for the next “few months” as he continues to recover, meaning the 36-year-old will likely miss Wimbledon as well.
“My ambition is to try and stop to give myself a chance to enjoy next year, which will probably be my last year on the professional tour,” Nadal told a press conference at his Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, Spain.
“That’s my idea, even then I can’t say 100% because you never know what can happen – but my idea and my motivation is to try to enjoy and say goodbye to all the tournaments that have been important to me in my to live. tennis career during [next] year, and just try to enjoy that, be competitive and have fun on the field, something that is not possible today.
“I really believe, if I continue now, I will not be able to live up to that. I don’t know if I’ll stop if I can live up to that, but I know the chances are much higher.”
The King of Clay said he intended to return for the Davis Cup Finals, which kick off in September.
Nadal has lost just three times at the French Open since his victorious debut in 2005, arguably one of the most dominant records in all of the sport.
In 2009, he suffered one of the biggest setbacks in tennis history after losing to Robin Söderling in the round of 16 before being beaten by Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021.
In 2016, Nadal withdrew ahead of his third-round match against compatriot Marcel Granollers due to a wrist injury.
Nadal has not played since the Australian Open and fell out of the world’s top 10 for the first time since 2005 in March.
“Rafa, we can’t imagine how difficult this decision was,” Roland Garros wrote on Twitter.” We will certainly miss you at Roland Garros this year. Take care of yourself to come back stronger on the track.
“I hope to see you in Paris next year.”