INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Rafael Nadal pulled out of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday evening, a day earlier than he was alleged to play his first official match in two months.
Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, posted the information on social media, writing that he was saying the withdrawal “with nice unhappiness.”
The 37-year-old from Spain missed almost all of final season due to a hip harm that required surgical procedure, then briefly returned to motion for 3 matches in early January earlier than tearing a muscle close to the hip. That pressured him to bypass the Australian Open — and he has not been on tour since.
Nadal had come to the California desert effectively forward of the hard-court event to organize for his return to motion in what he has stated might be his ultimate yr as knowledgeable. He left to move to Las Vegas, the place he performed an exhibition match towards Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday, earlier than going again to Indian Wells.
He was scheduled to face 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic within the first spherical Thursday evening, however now the world will wait to search out out when it subsequent will get an opportunity to observe Nadal compete.