In a press conference on Wednesday, where his family was also present, Rafael Nadal confirmed that he will not play at Roland Garros saying it was impossible to be ready.
He had a smile on his face as he sat in front in a white shirt and jeans. “I have no intention of continuing to play in the coming months,” he said.
Nadal’s hip caused him to get knocked out of the Australian Open, back in January, in the second round. That was four months ago and the last time he was seen on a tennis court to date. This will be the first time in his career that Nadal will be missing Roland Garros since making his debut in Paris in 2005.
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His injury had not been healed. “The injury has not evolved as we would have liked. The last and most important objective, Roland Garros, becomes impossible,” he said.
He added that the decision was not an easy one for him to make. “After many years playing there, you can imagine how much of a difficult decision it’s been for me. This isn’t a decision I’ve made, it’s a decision my body has made,” he said.
Roland Garros’s official Twitter account posted this tweet as the press conference was going on:
“I am not going to set a return date. It could be a goal to reach the end of the year and the Davis Cup. When you can’t do a part of your life with happiness, that moves to the rest. That is why you have to put a point and part On a personal level, it has been a really difficult few years. It has been difficult for me to have continuity, especially because of the physique,” he added. “I need to stop for a while. Don’t know I will be able to practice. I don’t like to predict the future.”
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“I sense that next year will be my last year,” he said. “2024 is probably going to be my last year on the professional Tour. My motivation is to try and enjoy and say goodbye to all the tournaments that have been important to me.”
Nadal’s comment also effectively means that he will also miss Wimbledon which begins on July 3. He said that he is still hoping he can make it to the Olympics, as he wants to “play the things that are important to me.”