Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, 36, has dropped out of the Top 5, and will hardly be seen on the court again until the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo. His big goal is obviously Roland Garros, where he will go hunting for his 15th seal.
It is now official that Nadal will not participate in the ATP 250 in Doha (February 20-25) or the ATP 500 in Dubai (February 27-March 4). Rafa will lose 500 points from last year’s title in Acapulco and drop further in the standings.
The Spaniard is currently in sixth position with 3815 points, which is 100 more than Felix Auger-Aliassime. World number 8 Taylor Fritz has 3410, followed by Holger Rune and Hubert Hurkacz. Nadal’s permanence in the Top 10 is also compromised by Cameron Norrie and Daniil Medvedev, who have 2760 and 2750 points respectively.
It is not yet known whether the Majorcan will participate in the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and Miami. In California, Rafa is defending last year’s final, where he lost to Taylor Fritz with a broken rib.
Rafael Nadal has started the year 2023 badly.
Nadal had skipped Miami and Monte Carlo in 2022, before leaving Madrid and Rome prematurely. Arriving in Paris in precarious conditions, Nadal left everyone speechless by winning his 22nd Major.
The former world number 1 was snagged by Novak Djokovic at the top of the all-time Grand Slam rankings, after the Serb won his tenth Australian Open a few weeks ago.
Rafa’s physical condition worries fans, who have many questions about the future of their idol. The Spaniard hasn’t expressed his best tennis since reaching the semi-final at Wimbledon last year and won just one match in 2023.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion will try to turn the tide on his favorite surface. Nadal’s 2023 certainly didn’t start under a lucky star. The Spanish phenomenon left the scene prematurely at the Australian Open, where he was called upon to defend the title won in 2022, in addition to suffering a second degree injury to the ileo-psoas.
