The ATP1000 Rome Masters is set to start next week, with a withdrawal ahead of the tournament. Spanish tennis king Nadal announced in a social media post that he would withdraw from the upcoming Rome tournament, which will begin next week. This is the fourth tournament the clay king has withdrawn from this year's clay-court season, and he is likely to parachute into this year's French Open without warming up.
Nadal said on social media that I regret to announce that I will not be able to travel to Rome. You all know how much it hurts me to miss another event that marked my career. Although the situation has improved in recent days, it has been several months since I was able to train at a high level and the reconditioning process has its time, I have no choice but to continue with restorative training.
Nadal's last appearance was at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, and in the second round against McDonald, Nadal unfortunately injured his left iliopsoas muscle. Nadal was initially diagnosed with a six- to eight-week suspension, and he was initially expected to return for the clay-court season.
However, Nadal's injury recovery did not go well, and the recovery time exceeded 3 months. During this period, he missed the Middle East season, the North American Sunshine doubles and three clay-court races in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, and his consecutive absence dropped him out of the top 10 in the world rankings and ended his nearly 18-year record in the top 10.
Nadal tried a new treatment two weeks ago and received good feedback. However, after further examination on Friday, Nadal's body did not return to its best condition and he had to retire again to continue his journey of recovery. Nadal has been out for four months in a row since his Australian Open injury, casting a shadow over his French Open prospects.
Even if he can catch the French Open, there are not many opportunities left for him to warm up. After missing out on an 11th title at Roma in Futi, Nadal's only option is at the ATP 250 Geneva and Lyon the week before the French Open, provided he is back to fit for play.