Will Rafael Nadal play French Open 2023? Everything we know about Spaniard's injury and his recovery progress
Rafael Nadal is yet to play a match since his second-round exit at the 2023 Australian Open, where he lost 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to Mackenzie McDonald. The Spaniard suffered a hip injury during the match, which has resulted in him being absent on tour since.
Nadal's prolonged absence has seen him drop out of the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time since 2005. He has already missed several tournaments and is currently aiming to attain full fitness in order to defend his title at the French Open.
Here's all you need to know about Rafael Nadal's injury situation and how things are looking for him with the French Open just a few weeks away:
Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open
After withdrawing from the Indian Wells and Miami Masters, many hoped to see Nadal return to action at the clay-court season, starting with the Monte-Carlo Masters. The tournament's director David Massey also stated that the Spaniard was the first player to register.
However, Nadal announced his withdrawal from the Masters 1000 event, claiming that he still wasn't prepared to compete at the highest level and would continue with his recovery process.
Shortly after, the Spaniard also pulled out of the Barcelona Open for similar seasons, missing both tournaments for the second straight year.
Subsequent withdrawal from Madrid Open
The World No. 14 later announced his withdrawal from the Madrid Open via a video on social media, where he declared that he hadn't recovered from his injury yet. The Spaniard further revealed that he had decided to undergo a different course of treatment with the aim of giving himself a chance to compete in the remainder of the clay-court season.
"The injury is still unhealed and I can't work what I need to to compete. I was training, but now a few days ago we decided to change course a bit, do another treatment and see if things improve to try and get to what comes. I can’t give deadlines because if I knew I would tell y’all but I don't know. This is the current situation," he said.
Rafael Nadal's coach on Spaniard's current injury situation
Meanwhile, the 22-time Grand Slam champion's coach Carlos Moya spoke to L'Equipe not long back and said that the 36-year-old was practicing with the hopes of returning to action soon and that the current plan was to monitor his progress day-by-day.
"Right now we're doing more or less an hour and a half a day and we continue to progress day by day. It's not even about being optimistic or pessimistic, just to observe the state of your progress on a daily basis," Moya said.
The 1998 French Open champion also said that while Nadal has missed tournaments, he will be very motivated when he returns. Moya added that if things are good with the 'King of Clay,' he would compete at the Italian Open and if not, would try to make it to the French Open.
"Of course these are difficult times because we missed tournaments that we love, but Rafa is a warrior, with an indestructible mind and when the time comes to return, he will be very motivated. Right now it is impossible to define the calendar, but if tomorrow when we see each other everything is correct the objective is to go to Rome and if it is not possible we will try to be at Roland Garros," Carlos Moya said.
Rafael Nadal withdraws from the Italian Open
Nadal announced his withdrawal from the Italian Open, claiming that while there was an improvement in recent days, not training at a high level for several months took its toll.
The Spaniard will now aim to attain full fitness, with the French Open only 17 days away.