Tennis star Rafael Nadal is officially pulling out of the Madrid Open due to a hip injury. With no timeline for his return, it's unclear if he will be available for next month's French Open. Nadal shared a video on Thursday explaining why he has been relatively quiet the past few weeks.
"I haven't spoken directly to you for some time," Nadal said in Spanish. "These past weeks and months have been difficult.
"As you know, I suffered a major injury in Australia, in the psoas [muscle]. Initially, it had to be a six-to-eight week recovery period, and we are now on 14. The reality is that the situation is not what we would have expected. All medical indications have been followed, but somehow the evolution has not been what they initially told us and we find ourselves in a difficult situation."
Hola a todos. Hace un tiempo que no me comunico directamente con vosotros. Han sido unas semanas y unos meses difíciles. Como sabéis me hice una una lesión importante en Australia, en el Psoas. pic.twitter.com/m0TbsGFn5t
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) April 20, 2023
Nadal was looking to defend his title in the Australian Open in January, but he fell to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round. In that match, he was forced to take a medical timeout in the second set after aggravating a left hip injury. He was in visible pain while refusing to stop competing. The MRI showed a grade 2 injury in the iliopsoas muscle in his left leg.
He went on to withdraw from Indian Wells and Miami while he started rehab and did physiotherapy as instructed by his doctors. Nadal also missed Monte Carlo and Barcelona, which are some of the tournaments he said have been very important for his career.
"The injury still hasn't healed and I can't work out what I need to compete," Nadal said. "I was training, but a few days ago we decided to change course a bit, do an another treatment and see if things improve to try to get to what comes next."
The 22-time Grand Slam champion said there is not really much more to do other than to keep a positive attitude. He hopes to compete in some clay tournaments later this year, but he doesn't know how much longer he will be out. Nadal did not specifically mention his participation in the French Open, but Roland-Garros is coming up in just five weeks.
"I can't give a timeline because if I knew I would tell you, but I don't know. This is the current situation," Nadal said. "I wanted to inform you and send a special shoutout to all the people of Madrid and Spain because I will have missed the two tournaments here at home. Everyone knows how much it means to me to play in those tournaments.
"A big hug to everyone and as soon as I have updates I will let you know."
