The 22-time Grand Slam winner has been sidelined since January by a left hip flexor injury he picked up at the Australian Open. Nadal has won the Italian Open a record 10 times.

“You all know how much it hurts me to miss another one of the tournaments that has a place in my career as a professional and a person as well as for the support my Italian fans show me.” “I’m sorry to announce that I won’t be able to be in Rome,” Nadal said in a Twitter post in Spanish on Friday. MADRID – Rafael Nadal won’t be able to play the Italian Open either as he remains hampered by a nagging hip injury. Given Nadal’s age and trouble with injuries, it could be his last best shot at breaking his tie of Grand Slam titles with Novak Djokovic. The 36-year-old Nadal won his record-extending 14th French Open title last year. The issue has kept him from playing at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid. Rafael Nadal is undergoing a slow recovery from a left hip flexor injury at the Australian Open. “He’s going to play in Paris, although how he trains in the coming weeks and what he can do in Rome will be important to measure his aspirations there,” Toni Nadal said. Toni Nadal, who coached Rafael until the end of the 2017 season, said he expects him to try to come back at Rome in early May. Toni Nadal told Spain’s Radio Marca his nephew will soon be ready to return from a hip injury that has sidelined him since January. MADRID – The uncle and former coach of Rafael Nadal says the 22-time Grand Slam winner plans to be back fit in time to play the French Open next month.

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