Rafael Nadal missing French Open 2023 would be sad, says Amelie Mauresmo

The French Open's most successful champion Rafael Nadal is recovering from a hip injury and the thought of him missing the second Major of the season is bothering tournament director Amelie Mauresmo.

Nadal suffered an injury during his second-round loss against Mackenzie McDonald at the 2023 Australian Open and hasn't played since. While he was expected to return within eight weeks, the time has nearly doubled and it's still unclear when he will play again.

The Spaniard withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open, and the Madrid Open, which leaves him with only the Italian Open before Roland Garros, beginning on May 28.

Speaking to BBC Sport recently, former World No. 1 Mauresmo raised concerns over the Mallorcan's participation but chose to remain optimistic, with the tournament still over a month away.

"It's obviously a possibility for him not to be able to be fit to come here to Roland Garros," Mauresmo said. "But the only thing I know for sure is that if there is one tournament he doesn't want to miss, it's this one. We are still five weeks away from the main draw. I'm still hopeful, and I'll keep my fingers crossed."

The two-time Grand Slam winner added that it would be "sad" if Nadal were to miss his favorite tournament.

"It will be hard [to imagine Roland Garros without him]. It would be hard if he doesn't come, to be honest. He's so much part of the history of the tournament for the last almost 20 years, it would be sad. But I am someone that is positive so I'm going to hope that things are going to get better for him," she added.

The 36-year-old has won 14 titles in Paris and has a win-loss record of 112-3, with a staggering 97% win percentage. Out of the 115 matches that he has played since 2005, Nadal has been taken to five sets only thrice — by John Isner, Novak Djokovic, and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

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Rafael Nadal's statue at Philippe Chatrier not enough to honor him, says Amelie Mauresmo

Amelie Mauresmo at Rafael Nadal's academy

In 2021, the French Open unveiled a three-meter-tall statue of Rafael Nadal to celebrate his scarcely believable achievements in Paris. Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo recently visited the Rafa Nadal Academy to present the Spaniard with a miniature of the same.

In her recent interview with BBC Sport, Mauresmo stated that the tournament organizers were thinking about ways to honor the 22-time Grand Slam champion further.

"I think it would be hard to change the name of this [Philippe Chatrier] court, but, yes, we are having these conversations sometimes," she said. "We will need to do something to celebrate 14: maybe more one day. It is just something that is incredibly crazy, and in the history of sport, quite unique."

Rafael Nadal is also getting a statue in his hometown of Manacor, which was announced when he won the 2022 French Open.