Why did Rafael Nadal pull out of 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters?

The 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will be held from 10-17 April at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The tournament is the first of the three ATP Masters 1000 tournaments to be played on clay.

The 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters draw is comprised of 56 players including 16 seeds, the top eight of which receive a bye into the second round. On one hand, the tournament is going to count on the participation of the number 1 player in the ATP ranking Novak Djokovic, who will play again after hisparticipationin Dubai. Also, Jannik Sinner,Carlos Alcaraz,Alexander Zverev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the last Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters winner, are going to participate.

On the other hand, the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will not count withthe participation of world number two Daniil Medvedev.World number six Matteo Berrettini also withdrew as he extends his recovery from hand surgery. Rafael Nadal’s absence will surely be the most noticeable. The 11-time Monte-Carlo champion is not going to be part of the tournament.

Why will Rafael Nadal not play at the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

Rafael Nadal lost the final of the 2022 Indian Wells against Taylor Fritz and then decided not to compete in the 2022 Miami Open to take some time off. Some days later, the Spaniard said that after the final against Fritz he was having trouble breathing. After medical studies, he confirmed he had a stress rib fracture.

“I have trouble breathing. I don’t know if it’s something in the rib or what it is. When I breathe, when I move, it’s like a needle inside all the time. I get a little dizzy because it’s painful, it limits me a lot, and it affects me. More than sad about the defeat, something that I accepted immediately even before finishing the final, I am suffering more because of this issue”, Nadal said.

Then he shared his medical diagnosis on Twitter. “In the end, it turns out I have a rib stress fracture, and I will be out between 4 and six weeks. There isn’t good news, and I didn’t expect this. I’m sad after the great beginning of the season I had”, he wrote. That’s why Nadal will not participate in the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and probably he will also miss Barcelona. If he recovers in time and form, the Spaniard wouldplay in Madrid.