Rafael Nadal Withdraws from Indian Wells Tournament: A Difficult Decision

He loves “playing here. That’s also one of the reasons why I came to the desert very early to train and try to prepare.”

But the Spaniard added to his fans: “I don’t feel ready to play at the highest level in such an important event.”

It was “not an easy decision, it is indeed a difficult decision, but I cannot lie to myself and the thousands of fans.”

The Spaniard should have celebrated his comeback on the tour in the opening duel against Milos Raonic on Friday. The Canadian’s new opponent is now lucky loser Sumit Nagal.

Rafael Nadal is fighting for a comeback after hip problems

On Tuesday, Nadal trained in Indian Wells in front of his enthusiastic fans. On Sunday, the 37-year-old also played against Carlos Alcaraz in the “Netflix Slam” show event in Las Vegas and narrowly lost. However, his fitness was apparently not yet sufficient for the ATP tour.

Tournament director Tommy Haas was disappointed by Nadal’s withdrawal. “We wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he can get back into action soon,” said the former world number two: “He is one of the absolute fan favorites here and we hope to see him again in Indian Wells in the future.”

The Spaniard was out for almost all of 2023 due to a hip injury. After his comeback in January 2024 in Brisbane, he had to miss the Australian Open due to a torn muscle fiber.

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2024-03-07 05:34:00
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