Rafael Nadal’s French Open hopes have taken a further blow as he pulled out of the Rome Masters. There were talks that the world No 14 would finally make his comeback at next week’s Italian Open after progress with his latest treatment. But after visiting his doctor, Nadal has postponed his comeback once again – putting both the French Open and his career into doubt.
Nadal has withdrawn from another tournament, this time the Rome Masters. The 36-year-old previously revealed that he had been under the impression that he could play a full clay swing but has now missed every big event in the lead-up to the French Open.
When he pulled out of Madrid, the 22-time Grand Slam champion said he was starting a new treatment and still hoped to play at least some of the clay swing. But he is now running out of time and could be forced to miss the most successful event of his career – Roland Garros.
“Hello everyone! I am very sorry to announce that I will not be able to be in Rome,” he tweeted on Friday. “You all know how much it hurts me to miss another one of the tournaments that have marked my professional and personal career for all the love and support of the Italian fans.”
However, there was some relief as Nadal confirmed that he had already seen an improvement in his condition since changing his treatment tactic two weeks ago. The Spaniard added: “Despite having noticed an improvement in recent days, there have been many months without having been able to train at a high level and the readaptation process has its times and I have no choice but to accept them and continue working. A hug to all.”
It means that, if Nadal is to play the French Open, he will not get to compete in an official match on the clay beforehand unless he enters one of the smaller ATP 250 events in Geneva or Lyon the week before. The 36-year-old’s latest withdrawal comes after he issued a big update on his condition two weeks ago, admitting that “the injury is still unhealed and I can’t work what I need to compete”.
In the statement posted on April 20, he added: “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 you but I don’t know. This is the current situation.”
While there finally appear to be some positive signs in his recovery process, there are still concerns given that Nadal has been unable to get to a point where he can play competitively. With the French Open now three weeks away, there have to be question marks over whether the reigning champion and 14-time winner will be back to defend his crown.
