Injury-hit Nadal pulls out of French Open

Rafael Nadal on Thursday pulled out of the French Open 2023 after failing to recover from a hip injury, that he suffered in January. The 14-time champion will not play in the season’s second major for the first time since his tournament debut in 2005.

The French Open starts in Paris on May 28 and runs until June 11. The 36-year-old Nadal has not competed since January at the Australian Open, where he suffered an injury to the iliopsoas muscle in his left leg. Nadal and his team were expecting a recovery period of six to eight weeks, but the lefty has not returned to action.

In addition to his record 14 trophies at the Roland Garros, Nadal owns a 112-3 record across 18 career appearances at the major. His 112 match wins and his 97.4 per cent win-rate both stand alone as records, as does his perfect 14-0 mark in finals.

Last year in Paris, Nadal defeated Casper Ruud in a three-set championship match to win a record-breaking 22nd Grand Slam singles title -- a mark Novak Djokovic has since equalled.

Nadal overcame a chronic foot injury to win both the Australian Open and Roland Garros last season. But the Spaniard has played just five tournaments since due to injury.