Former world number one Rafael Nadal has canceled his ATP comeback. A day before his opening match in Indian Wells, the Spaniard announced on Wednesday afternoon (local time) that he was “not yet ready to play at the highest level”. Therefore, he will not compete in the tournament in California. The decision wasn’t easy for him, “but I can’t lie to myself or the thousands of fans,” said the 37-year-old. Lucky loser Sumit Nagal moves up.
“Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I like playing here in Indian Wells,” emphasized the three-time winner of the hard court tournament. He also trained very hard and came to the desert town “very early” to prepare for the sixth largest tournament in the world. He also completed a test at the weekend. In Las Vegas, the Spaniard lost an exhibition against his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, who was 17 years his junior, in three sets. Nadal said afterwards that things went “better than expected” against the current world number two.
After years plagued by injuries, the 22-time Grand Slam winner is now only number 652 in the world. He only returned to the tour in Australia in January, but was stopped by the next injury at the tournament in Brisbane after two wins and had to miss the Australian Open. At the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, Nadal wanted to gain match practice for the clay court season starting in April. The last big goals of the former world number one are the French Open and the Olympic Games, which also take place at the Stade Roland Garros. Nadal celebrated his greatest successes there. He won the title in Paris 14 times.