Nadal left the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo with a harsh confession: “My body won’t let me”

He Monte Carlo Masters 1000the first major clay court tournament of the European Tour, which begins on Sunday, will have one notable absence. Rafael Nadalundisputed king of slow courts and eleven-time champion of the competition, has announced that he will not play in the Principality and has once again postponed his return to the circuit, where he has not played since January. “My body won’t let me”the Spaniard explained in a post on Instagram.

“These are difficult times for me from a sporting point of view,” he began Rafa. “And although I continue to work and do my best every day with the hope of being able to compete in tournaments that have been very important to me, the reality is that today I cannot.”

“You can’t imagine how difficult it is for me not to have the opportunity to play at these events once again. All I have left is accept the situation and try to look towards the immediate future, maintaining the enthusiasm and desire to give myself the opportunity for things to improve. A big hug to everyone and thank you for the love and support always! “, she closed.

As if to reassure his fans, who hope to see him back in action soon, he accompanied the message with a video in which he can be seen training in his academy in Manacor.

Nadal, to whom the Monegasque event had reserved a special invitation (he is 649th in the ranking), missed almost all of 2023 due to a grade 2 injury to the iliopsoas of his left leg sustained in the match. Australian Open. He returned in January, but only played three games BrisbaneATP250 (wins against Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler and losses against Jordan Thompson).

In that duel against the Australian he felt discomfort in his hip and hours later tests showed that he had suffered a micro muscle lesion on one thigh. He gave up the first Grand Slam of the season. In March he traveled to the United States where he played a show in Las Vegas Carlos Alcaraz and had planned to appear Indian wellsbut in the end he chose not to play in the Californian desert and to focus exclusively on the powder tour, which is always his favorite stretch of the calendar.

With the idea in the air that this will be his last season – although he has never confirmed it, he has hinted several times that it is a concrete possibility -, many have speculated that Nadal intended to play some matches on that surface to get to the best possible. Roland Garroswhere he lifted the trophy 14 times, and then said goodbye in Paris Olympic Gameswhich will also be played at the Bois de Boulogne club after Wimbledon.

To exclude Monte Carlo, where he last played in 2021 (he won in the quarterfinals against Andrey Rublev), we will have to see if the Majorcan will feel good for the Barcelona ATP 500, which will start on Monday 15th and represents the next stage of the program that I had developed before the start of the season. Inside Count of Godóof which he is the first winner with 12 titles, it also saved him a place in the draw.

After Barcelona, ​​​​Nadal had confirmed his desire to play Madrid Masters 1000. They were also waiting for him with open arms in Rome, to give him one last chance to get back into rhythm before Paris. But the former No. 1 and winner of 21 Slams has once again postponed his return to the court, and has opened a big question about his immediate future and the end of his extraordinary career.