Rafael Nadal withdraws from Italian Open amidst injury recovery

Rafael Nadal has announced his withdrawal from the Italian Open in Rome “despite an improvement” in his situation.

A left hip injury has forced Nadal to be out of action since the Australian Open in January, leading to the 22-time Grand Slam Champion dropping out of the top 10. He is currently ranked World No. 14.

Nadal took to social media to make the announcement, where he expressed his disappointment at having to pull out of the event. He stated that despite noticing improvements in his injury recovery, he decided to take it slow and not rush into competitive action.

"Hello everyone! I am very sorry to announce that I will not be able to be in Rome. 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 tifosi," he said.

"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," he added.

Nadal, a 10-time champion in Rome, joins a growing list of players to withdraw from the tournament. This includes the likes of Belinda Bencic, Zhang Shuai, Amanda Anisimova, and Emma Raducanu, to name a few.

---

Rafael Nadal's coach Carlos Moya states Spaniard doesn't need match practice to be able to compete in tournaments

Rafael Nadal (L) and Carlos Moya at the 2022 US Open.

With his Italian Open withdrawal, Rafael Nadal faces the prospect of heading into the Roland Garros with no match practice under his belt.

Nadal's 2023 season has been brief and forgetful so far. At the inaugural United Cup, he lost both his matches to Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur respectively. Later, at the Australian Open, the defending champion defeated Jack Draper before losing to Mackenzie McDonald in the Round of 64.

Since that loss, Nadal has remained on the sidelines, recuperating from a leg injury he picked up at the Melbourne Major. The former World No. 1 has a 1-3 win-loss record for the year and if passed fit to compete at the French Open, he will enter the event on the back of zero competitive action.

However, Rafael Nadal's coach Carlos Moya isn't worried about that, as he doesn't believe that his charge needs a lot of match practice to regain his form. In a conversation with RTVE, he opined:

"We are a bit sad for not having been able to debut in the clay court season yet. The one who is having the worst is him, but we try to encourage him and we are always optimistic."

He added:

"He continues with confidence, with Rafa you can always expect him to be I pulled a rabbit out of the hat," he added. "That's why I think it's always been an urban legend that Nadal needs a lot of games to be ready, when he has returned from injury he has always achieved good results"

The French Open is scheduled to get underway on May 22, and it remains to be seen if 14-time champion Rafael Nadal will be fit enough to defend his title in Paris.