Injured Rafael Nadal's French Open hopes hangs in balance
The Spaniard, who has won 21 Grand Slam singles titles, was ruled out last month for up to six weeks with a stress fracture in his rib.
FollowRafael Nadal's return to competitive tennis still remains uncertain after the Spanish ace on Tuesday withdrew from this month's ATP event in Barcelona as he recovers from a rib injury. The 21-time Grand Slam champion was ruled out last month for up to six weeks with a stress fracture in his rib.
"Rafa has just been withdrawn from the entry list in Barcelona," the 35-year-old's team said in a statement sent to Reuters.
"We don't know yet when he will be at his first tournament on clay this year. Hopefully, soon," the statement added.
Nadal, known as King of Clay-court, had complained of a chest issue during his run to the final of the ATP 1000 event in Indian Wells, California, last month.Â
The Spanish ace endured a brave battle against America's Taylor Fritz, despite struggling with his rib injury before losing 6-3, 7-6 in the final - and later claimed he had breathing difficulties throughout the match.
Nadal was also suffering from the same issue in his semi-final 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Carlos Alcaraz, but the three-set victory took its toll, and the Spaniard wasn't able to pull through in the final.
The 35-year-old tennis legend bagged his first 20 matches of the season, claiming three titles, including the Australian Open 2022, and was the favourite to clinch the first Masters' event in 2022.
It was evident from the start of the final that all was not well with the Spaniard, who went off the court at the end of the first set. However, despite struggling with pain, Nadal decided to carry on and had his chances in the second set.
Tests in Barcelona have since revealed 'a stress fracture of the third left costal arch'. Nadal will hope to recover from his injury on time to participate in next month's Madrid and Rome ATP Masters 1000 events in a bid to get matches under his belt before the French Open. The 13-time champions at Roland Garros will hope to be fit for the second Grand Slam of the year, set to begin on May 22.
