Washington | Rafael Nadal announced on Thursday (Friday AEST) that he will not play in the upcoming French Open, saying in a news conference that the hip injury he suffered during the Australian Open in January has not healed sufficiently. He added that next year “probably is going to be” his last on the professional tennis tour.

Nadal, who turns 37 on June 3, is a 14-time French Open champion, and a statue of him stands outside Roland Garros in Paris. But his inability to play in his signature event is not an especially surprising development, given his acknowledged struggle to return to form from the psoas muscle injury he suffered in Melbourne.

Washington Post