Legendary tennis star Rafael Nadal will not compete in the 2023 French Open due to a hip injury that has kept him out since the Australian Open in January.
According to CNN’s Matias Grez, the 36-year-old Nadal announced his withdrawal from the tournament Thursday and added that 2024 will be his final year as a professional tennis player.
Nadal also said he will be out for the next “few months,” meaning he will not only miss the French Open, which starts May 28, but will likely also miss Wimbledon in July.
Rafa is undoubtedly the most dominant player in the history of the French Open, having won the tournament a record 14 times. Overall, he boasts a 112-3 career record at Roland Garros in Paris.
Nadal first qualified for the French Open in 2005, and until now, he had never before missed the event.
The Spaniard has won every Grand Slam tournament at least twice and is tied with Novak Djokovic for the most career men’s Grand Slam singles titles with 22.
With Nadal likely set to miss at least the next two Grand Slams, Djokovic has a golden opportunity to take sole possession of the record.
Djoker tied Nadal earlier this year when he won the Australian Open. Rafa experienced an early exit from that event, as he was knocked out in the second round by American Mackenize McDonald due in large part to being compromised by the hip ailment.
While Nadal’s Spanish countryman Carlos Alcaraz will likely be a major factor at Roland Garros, Nadal’s absence makes Djokovic the favorite to win the tournament.
Injuries have taken a toll on Nadal in recent years, as he missed the U.S. Open in 2020 and both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2021.
It is unclear if Nadal will be able to make it back in time for the U.S. Open in late August and early September, but he did state a clear goal Thursday.
Per Grez, Nadal wants to be back in time to represent Spain in the Davis Cup finals, which start in September.
The hope now is that Nadal will be healthy enough to have a proper swan song at the French Open and every other Grand Slam next year even if he misses the rest of this year’s major tournaments.
With Nadal set to retire, Roger Federer having already retired and Andy Murray seemingly nearing the end of his career, Djokovic may soon be the lone remaining member of the “Big Four” that dominated men’s tennis for nearly two decades.
