Nadal Withdraws From Roland Garros Due To Wrist Injury

Rafael Nadal, a nine-time Roland Garros champion, has withdrawn from the tournament due to a left wrist injury. He was slated to meet countryman Marcel Granollers in the third round.

“I have to retire from the tournament because of problem in my wrist that I have had for a couple of weeks,” Nadal said during a press conference on Friday. “Yesterday I played with an injection in my wrist. Last night I started to feel more and more pain. I did an MRI and an echography and the results were not positive. It’s not broken, but if I keep playing, something will break in the next couple of days. Every day the image has gotten a bit worse.

“I came here to win the tournament, and that means playing five more matches. According to the doctor, that would be impossible, as there is a 100 per cent chance something will break,” Nadal added. “I know that I cannot finish the tournament. It’s part of life and I hope to be back at Roland Garros for many years to come.”

Nadal conceded a walkover for just the third time in his career. He withdrew ahead of the 2004 Estoril quarter-finals and the 2012 Miami semi-finals. According to the Spaniard, he will not need immediate surgery.

“For the moment, I need a couple of weeks of immobilisation. Then we’re going to do the treatment, and we’ll hope that the treatment works well. But now is not the moment to talk about that. It’s just about taking it day by day, to work hard.

“I hope to have a fast recovery.”