Tennis news today: Rafael Nadal withdraws from Monte-Carlo, Iga Swiatek is the World No. 1, Matteo Berrettini pulls out of Miami | 26 March 2022
Rafael Nadal is out of the upcoming Monte-Carlo Masters following an injury setback. The Spaniard suffered a rib stress fracture during his semi-final match against Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells.
Rafael Nadal announced on Twitter that he is set to be out for 4-6 weeks.
Hola todos, quería anunciaros que he vuelto a España y fui enseguida a visitar a mi equipo médico para hacerme las pruebas tras la final de Indian Wells que jugué con molestias.
In other news, Iga Swiatek has clinched the World No. 1 ranking after winning her second-round match at the Miami Open. She's the 28th woman to be ranked No. 1 and the first Polish player to achieve the feat.
Matteo Berrettini is the latest player to withdraw from the Miami Open, while Bianca Andreescu is set for a comeback after a lengthy absence.
Here are the day's biggest headlines:
Rafael Nadal to miss the Monte-Carlo Masters
Following the rib injury that Rafael Nadal picked up in Indian Wells, his doctor stated that he is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks. The Spaniard has accordingly withdrawn from the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Rafael Nadal is a 11-time champion at the tournament, winning his most recent title in 2018. He is also expected to skip the Barcelona Open, but that hasn't been officially confirmed yet. It remains to be seen when Rafael Nadal will be seen in action next, but given the 4-6 week estimate, he could be back for the Madrid Masters.
Swiatek is the new World No. 1
Iga Swiatek has had a spectacular year so far. She reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and won two consecutive WTA 1000 tournaments in Qatar and Indian Wells. Her string of good results put her within striking distance of securing the World No. 1 ranking from Ashleigh Barty.
Welcome to the club ☝️
@iga_swiatek is the 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 Polish player in tennis history to become singles World No.1 🇵🇱
#1GA https://t.co/W8IEJh9C1n
Barty has asked to be removed from the rankings next week following her retirement, so all Swiatek had to do was win her second-round match at the Miami Open to ascend to the top. The 2020 Roland Garros champion did just that by defeating Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-0. She will be officially crowned the World No. 1 following the conclusion of the tournament.
Top players continue to lose at the Miami Open
The exodus of women's seeds continued at the Miami Open as Maria Sakkari, Jelena Ostapenko, Anett Kontaveit, Madison Keys, Elise Mertens, Sorana Cirstea and Liudmila Samsonova became the latest casualties.
Early Day 4 results in Miami:
Haddad Maia d. [4] Sakkari 46 61 62
Rogers d. [10] Ostapenko 63 76
Fruhvirtova d. [20] Mertens 75 26 61
Zhang Shuai d. [24] Cirstea 61 61
Brengle d. [29] Samsonova 64 60
Seeds Gauff, Pegula, Kvitova, Kudermetova, Rybakina win through to 3R. https://t.co/HynnLDBeiI
The men's seeds didn't fare much better as Andrey Rublev, Grigor Dimitrov, Diego Schwartzman, Lorenzo Sonego and John Isner lost in the second round as well.
Berrettini the latest player to withdraw from the Miami Open
Fourth seed Matteo Berrettini became the latest player to pull out of the ongoing Miami Open. He suffered a right hand injury, forcing him to withdraw from the tournament. After a semi-final showing at the Australian Open, the Italian's season has been up and down.
Berrettini reached the quarterfinals of the Rio Open, but retired midway through his first-round match at the Mexican Open against Tommy Paul. At Indian Wells, he lost in the fourth round to Miomir Kecmanovic.
Andreescu gears up for a comeback
Bianca Andreescu hasn't competed since her title defense at the 2021 Indian Wells Open ended in the third round in October. She announced her withdrawal from this year's Australian Open and is yet to play a match in 2022.
After a video surfaced of the Canadian practicing, many predicted Andreescu was preparing for her comeback. The Canadian has been confirmed as one of the alternates for the upcoming Stuttgart Open, to be held from 18-24 April.
To secure direct entry into the main draw, she'll need eight players to withdraw. However, considering Andreescu's status as a former Grand Slam champion, she's likely to get a wildcard to compete.
Also Check Out: Miami Open 2022 Schedule