Rafael Nadal’s comeback to tennis will be delayed yet again, as the 37-year-old withdrew from the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday evening.
“It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament,” Nadal posted on social media. “Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I love to play here at Indian Wells. That’s also one of the reasons why I came very early to the desert to practice and try to get ready.
“I have been working hard and practicing and you all know I took a test this weekend but I don’t find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event. It is not an easy decision, it’s a tough one as a matter of fact but I can’t lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans. I will miss you all and I am sure the tournament will be a great success.”
The 22-time Grand Slam champion played an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz at the Netflix Slam in Las Vegas this past Sunday and split sets before losing 14-12 in a super-tiebreaker. Nadal looked healthy enough, but he pulled the plug on his plans to play an official tournament after practicing in Indian Wells on Wednesday afternoon.
“We are disappointed that Rafa is unable to play in the BNP Paribas Open, but we wish him continued healing and hope he can be back in action again soon,” tournament director Tommy Haas stated. “He is one of the all-time fan favorites here, and we hope to see him back in Indian Wells again in the future.”
That is unlikely, of course, since this is expected to be Nadal’s final season on tour. The Spaniard will now target a return on clay–specifically for Roland Garros and the Paris Olympics.
sad but never really in doubt
End of an era
Really Rafa, waiting for a draw to happen and then before the match to pull out with “I don’t find myself ready to play at the highest level …” excuse, very lousy one?!
Bizarre.
What an amazing superstar tennis player! Heart broken 💔 not to see him play one more time at Indian Wells! 😢 Hope he recovers and can play the French in May! We love you Rafa! Thanks for making our lives a little more exciting by being your fans!
How old are you, if you are some youngster I understand you, you are yet to experience some life, but if you are mature person I really feel sorry for you, you didn’t have much of a life, that’s sad 😔.
Tough break for the tournament, especially all the fans…..but I still love Rafa!
Nagal replaces him.Kind of appropriate .
A new and improved version of Rafa. 🙂
It’s not even funny anymore ..what does not ready to compete mean over and over again ? Just playing around with emotions of his fans was perfectly okay to play at Netflix slam and pocket those millions and anyone who saw the Netflix slam clearly saw he wasn’t bad..ofcourse not his best but it was a decent level.. don’t understand what’s up with him.
If he wants to keep doing this ,just say you are retiring and get done with it.
Am totally frustrated now with this man and I was a huge huge fan of his…
I don’t like that he played the silly exho with Alcaraz and then withdrew from IW. If his health was a priority why play this dumb exhibition? Except for the money! 💰💰💰💰
Like you I was a mega fan but he just keeps irritating or annoying me.
Way too many silly/ questionable decisions going on for a long time now. He played the exhos with Ruud when he still had serious physical issues…and his wife had just given birth!!
I feel now that he is constantly letting his fans down.
Rafa knows that if he’s not getting enough work on his forehand it just sits up and there goes his unfair advantage.
And most of the younger players hit it relatively flat and have double handed backhands.
There’s truth in that. Rafa does depend on that work on the forehand and his speed.
Don’t know why Animadora was personally attacked, when all she was doing was showing passion for her favorite, it’s not like the fans of other players don’t do the same, really no need for that
Agree with Amy and Sanju, I don’t know what I find more irritating, Rafa and his will he won’t he play etc etc, or the endless childish posts from the Djokovic fan brigade pftt
Rafa doesn’t have to please his fans, just himself. He must have felt something when he played the exhibition match. I read where he was tested and couldn’t play. Clay is the main thing he wants to be 100% healthy for….. but in all reality, I personally don’t think he’ll ever be 100% again. Rafa loves to compete and I know he’s fighting retirement with every fiber of his being. But I believe he was honest and above board that he really did want to play in the IW tournament. You don’t come to the states 2 weeks early just for the Netflix Slam. I truly believe he had a niggle of some sort. I will give him the benefit of doubt….always! He’s my guy through thick and thin! VAMOS!!
Hi Okie you make a fair point lovely to read you 😊
Thanks Al…. As his loyal fans, we both know how much stuff Rafa has gone through during his illustrious career, I just can’t ever not stand up for him when he’s getting bombarded from all sides. Oh, BTW…… what person on the planet doesn’t like money?? 🤑🤑🤑 I do, I do!! 😊😊 ❤️ ya girl!