Rafael Nadal To Miss Indian Wells, Miami With Leg Injury

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the upcoming Indian Wells and Miami Open events due to a left leg injury suffered at the Australian Open.

“I am sad that I won’t be able to compete at Indian Wells nor Miami,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said on Twitter.

“Very sad not to be there. I”ll miss al my US fans but I hope to see them later this year during the summer swing.

Nadal, 36, reached the Indian Wells final a year ago, losing to American Taylor Fritz, but suffered a rib injury in the semifinals against Carlos Alcaraz that hindered him in the match.

“We wish Rafa continued healing, and hope to see him back at the BNP Paribas Open next year,” said Tournament Director Tommy Haas.

Nadal hopes to be OK by the time the clay court season rolls around. Nadal has won 14 of his 22 majors at Roland Garros, which begins May 28.

Over the past year, he has been troubled by damaged rib cartilage … and by chronic pain in his left foot that was dulled via nerve-numbing injections during his title run at the French Open … and by a torn abdominal muscle that forced him to pull out of Wimbledon.

Nadal has missed 11 Grand Slam tournaments since his Wimbledon debut in 2003 and many other tournaments have ended with him losing his battle with his body. Now he is enduring another recovery.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic could also miss both Indian Wells and Miami due to not being vaccinated. He has asked for an exemption but unvaccinated foreigners are currently not permitted to fly into the U.S.

Djokovic and Nadal are tied at 22 major singles titles and will look to break the tie at Roland Garros.