TENNIS
Nadal and Alcaraz pull out of the Monte Carlo Masters
The two Spanish superstars have pulled out of the first clay Masters 1000 of the season to fully recover physically before competing again.
Bad news for the Monte Carlo Masters and tennis fans. Tennis legend Rafa Nadal and young star Carlos Alcaraz won’t feature in the first European Masters 1000 of the calendar, with both of them announcing the news within minutes of each other.
Many were expecting to see Nadal coming back onto the courts in Monte Carlo after not competing since the Australian Open back in January due to injuries in his hip and leg.
However, Nadal’s absence has been confirmed on Tuesday, after the Manacor native released a statement saying he still wasn’t ready to compete again.
“Hi everyone, unfortunately, I am still not ready to compete and will miss one of those special tournaments I always love to play,” he said.
“Monte Carlo is and has been a key event in my career, but unfortunately, I will have to miss it again since I am still not ready to compete without the risk of getting injured. I will continue the process of getting ready to come back”, he added.
Just some minutes later, fellow countryman Alcaraz also announced he wouldn’t participate in the tournament to get recovered from his efforts in Indian Wells and Miami.
After two months of competing, I’m happy to be back home but sad that I finished my semi-final match in Miami with soreness,” he said on social media.
“After visiting my doctor in Murcia today and being evaluated, I will not be able to go to Monte Carlo to start the tour on the ground”, the current US Open champion added.
Nadal will be aiming to get back either in Madrid or Rome to be able to get some competition rhythm before traveling to Paris to play Roland Garros, where he will try to lift the title for the 15th time in his career and overtake Novak Djokovic as the players with the most Grand Slam tournaments won ever in the ATP.