Nadal out of Monte-Carlo: when did he last play, when could he play next?

Rafa Nadal took to social media this evening to announce that that he will not reappear at the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 with the first round matches scheduled to start on Sunday. The 22-Grand Slam winner explained in a lengthy post on X: “Hi all, these are very difficult moments for me, sporting wise. Unfortunately I have to tell you that I am not going to be playing in Monte Carlo. My body simply won’t allow me. And even if I am working hard & making the maximum effort every day with all the will to play and compete again at tournaments that have been very important for me, the truth is that I can’t play today.

“You have no idea how hard this is for me to not be able to play these events. The only thing I can do is to accept the situation and try to look at the immediate future keeping the excitement and will to play in order to give me a chance for things to get better. Thanks again to all, as always, for all the support and best wishes!”

It’s a hammer blow for the Spaniard who has one particularly well in Monte-Carlo over the years. It was here that he won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo 19 years ago, he holds a record 11 titles as well as the most appearances in the final (12) and a 73-6 tournament record which has earned him a reputation as the undisputed king of the Principality.

Why is Nadal unable to play in Monte-Carlo?

Rafa didn’t go into any specific detail about his fitness issues although he spent almost all of last year sidelined with an injury to his iliopsoas muscle in his left hip - an injury he sustained during his second round Australian Open defeat to Mackenzie McDonald. He underwent surgery in June with a recovery period of around five months. At the time, he confessed that 2024 may well be his last season on the pro circuit.

It is believed that this latest injury is a muscular issue and not related to his hip flexor injury.

When did Nadal last compete?

It’s been a difficult year for the Mallorcan, who started 2024 in promising form at the Brisbane International, sweeping aside Dominic Thiem (5-7 1-6), Jason Kubler (1-6 2-6) only to lose to Jordan Thompson in the quarter finals.

He was scheduled to appear at the Indian Wells Open in March but withdrew, explaining that he had reservations after training and didn’t feel in conditions for his opening match against World No. 3 Milos Raonic.

Nadal’s last competitive match was the Netflix Slam exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas, which was streamed live - a game which his compatriot won 3-6 6-4 (14-12).

There are eight tournaments left this year in which Nadal could reappear although with this latest setback, it’s unlikely that he will feature in all of them. He will be aiming to get back to full fitness for the Barcelona Open which starts on 15 April. That is followed by the Madrid Open on 22 April which could be his swansong in the Spanish capital. He will be desperate not to miss Roland Garros – his favorite tournament which runs from 27 May to 9 June. The US Open at Flushing Meadows could be the last time we see Rafa out on court on the ATP circuit although he has missed three of the last four events.