The 2022 Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain, is out for the next six weeks because of a broken rib according to Stephanie Wenger of People. Nadal initially felt some discomfort in his semifinal match in Indian Wells against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. However Nadal was able to push through and defeat his Spanish compatriot, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
In addition to playing with a broken rib, Nadal also had an ankle sprain in the Indian Wells men’s final against Taylor Fritz of the United States according to Simone Brugnoli of Tennis World. In the biggest win of his career, Fritz overcame an ankle injury himself, to beat Nadal in the Indian Wells final, 6-3, 7-6.
Nadal initially pulled out of the Miami Masters, which is set to start on Wednesday, to focus on his specialty–the clay court season. Now Nadal will miss the ATP events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. At this point, the Madrid Open, which is set to start April 26 in Nadal’s home country, would be a definite question mark.
In Monte Carlo, Nadal has won the title a remarkable total of 11 times, but has not won since 2018, when he beat Kei Nishikori of Japan, 6-3, 6-2. The 2021 Monte Carlo Masters champion was Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. Nadal meanwhile lost to Andrey Rublev of Russia in the quarterfinals last year, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
In Barcelona, Nadal has won that event a remarkable total of 12 times. He is also the defending champion, where he beat Tsitsipas, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5. If Nadal has no more setbacks, he should be ready for the Italian Open in May, which he has won 10 times, and the French Open, which he has won 13 times.
