Tennis: Rafael Nadal withdraws from Roland-Garros, a first since 2005

Spain's Rafael Nadal during the announcement of his withdrawal for Roland Garros at his tennis academy in Manacor, May 18, 2023. © AFP / JAIME REINA

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The Spaniard Rafael Nadal, crowned 14 times at Roland-Garros, announced his withdrawal for the 2023 edition of the tournament, this Thursday, May 18 at a press conference in Mallorca. This will be the first time since 2005 that he does not participate in the Paris tournament.

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It was an announcement that the tennis world dreaded. The Spaniard Rafael Nadal announced this Thursday, May 18 that he declared forfeit for the 2023 edition of the Roland-Garros tournament. "The injury I suffered in Australia didn't evolve as we wanted, so I won't be able to be there at Roland Garros," he told a news conference at his tennis academy in Manacor, Mallorca. The 36-year-old Mallorcan is expected to be unavailable in the "coming months", thus excluding his participation at least in the Wimbledon tournament. "Next year will probably be the last year," he also added, referring to the end of his career.

An unprecedented announcement for the Spaniard, since his first title in the Parisian tournament in 2005, two days after his 19th birthday, Nadal has never failed at Roland-Garros. He accumulated more than 110 victories and won 14 titles, making him the record holder for the number of titles in the Parisian Grand Slam. He failed only three times, in 2009, 2015 and 2021, and was forfeited during the tournament in 2016 because of his left wrist.

A prolonged absence in recent months

In 2022, despite a left foot anesthetized to contain the recurring pain affecting his ankle, he triumphed for the 14th time in Paris, winning his 22nd career Grand Slam, a record shared only with Serbian Novak Djokovic.

Nadal, who turns 37 in early June, has not appeared competitively for four months due to a muscle injury in his left hip. His last match, a three-set second-round Australian Open loss to American Mackenzie McDonald in which he was injured, was on January 18. Initially estimated between six and eight weeks, his absence has only stretched since, like the list of his packages, from the American tour on hard (Indian Wells and Miami) to the European season on ochre, from Monte-Carlo to Rome, via Barcelona and Madrid. With now the addition of Roland-Garros.

His record in 2023 is poor: only one win for four matches played. If injuries have marked his career, yet exceptional, they have been accentuated for a year, from his foot to his left hip, through two abdominal tears last summer. In nine months, he was able to play only thirteen matches and lost eight. In the ATP rankings, the Spanish giant has plummeted to 14th place.

While the organizers of the tournament hope to see him one last time in 2024 for his swan song in Paris, the 2023 edition of Roland-Garros already promises to be the most open in 20 years. Novak Djokovic, another regular favorite of the tournament, will not arrive in Paris with the ideal preparation since in three tournaments on clay in 2023, he has accumulated only five wins for three losses. Enough to reshuffle the cards during the tournament, because since 2005, apart from the exception Wawrinka in 2015, no other player has managed to win in Paris apart from the sacred trio Nadal-Federer-Djokovic.

Rafa,

We can't imagine how hard this decision was. We'll definitely miss you at this year's Roland-Garros. Take care of yourself to come back stronger on courts.

Hoping to see you next year in Paris 🧡 pic.twitter.com/lTN3GExBFo

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 18, 2023

(

With AFP)

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