The 2016 French Open will now be without the most successful singles player in its history. Rafael Nadal announced Friday that he is withdrawing from the tournament due to a wrist injury.
Nadal, 29, said he attempted to play through his wrist injury, but continuing to do so could result in a more significant injury. Nadal did not explicitly say what the problem in his wrist is, only that it is something he has been dealing with for a couple of weeks.
Nadal: "I have to retire from the tournament because I have a problem in my wrist that I have since couple of wks." pic.twitter.com/cR6nRYDE4E
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2016
Nadal advanced to the third round of the tournament on Thursday, defeating Facundo Bagnis 6-3, 6-0, 6-3. However, he was only able to complete the match after taking a painkiller injection beforehand.
Rafael Nadal (cont.): "Yesterday I played with an injection on the wrist. Yesterday night I start to feel more and more pain."
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2016
After consulting with medical staff, Nadal determined that a playing through the injury — even with painkillers — would not be an option.
Nadal said he would risk a tear in his wrist if he kept playing and says he played last round with a pain-killing injection
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) May 27, 2016
"The real thing is that it's not 100%, but it's not broken. But if I keep on playing, it's gonna be broken" – Nadal
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) May 27, 2016
Nadal was seeded fourth in the tournament. His third-round foe, Marcel Granollers, will advance to the next round. The exit of the nine-time French Open champion certainly opens the door even wider for Novak Djokovic to finally capture his first title at Roland Garros. The French Open is the only Grand Slam event that the world’s No. 1 player has yet to win.
During his career, Nadal has a 72-2 record at Roland Garros, winning five French Open titles from 2010 to 2014. Prior to that, he won the event four straight times from 2005 to 2008.