Rafael Nadal withdraws from Indian Wells, edges closer to falling out of top 10

Rafael Nadal has officially withdrawn from the 2023 Indian Wells Open, the season's first Masters 1000 event. The Spaniard is still recovering from the hip injury he sustained at the Australian Open at the start of the year. As a result, he has opted to play it safe and rest ahead of the upcoming clay season.

Nadal was defending 600 points in the tournament, having reached the final last year before falling to Taylor Fritz. As a result, the 22-time Grand Slam champion edges further closer to falling out of the top 10, a position he has occupied for 18 straight years.

Speaking in a press release, tournament director Tommy Haas confirmed the 36-year-old's withdrawal, hoping to see him next year.

“We wish Rafa continued healing, and hope to see him back at the BNP Paribas Open next year,” Haas said.

The Mallorcan follows the likes of Nick Kyrgios and Marin Cilic, who had pulled out of Indian Wells earlier due to injury concerns of their own. Last year, Nadal skipped the Miami Open taking place immediately afterward (due to the injury he sustained during the final against Fritz). He is expected to do the same once again.

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Rafael Nadal already practicing on clay

Meanwhile, a video of Rafael Nadal practicing at his academy surfaced on social media earlier, the first time he has been spotted training since his Australian Open injury. However, the World No. 8 opted to practice on clay, already alerting fans to the fact that he might be skipping the trip to Indian Wells.

Interestingly, he doesn't have a lot of points to defend during the clay swing. The former World No. 1 missed both the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open in 2022 due to injury.

While he played at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, he did not make deep runs at either. He fell in the quarterfinals (to Carlos Alcaraz) in Madrid and in the Round of 16 (to Denis Shapovalov) in Rome.

It is only at the French Open that Nadal will defend the bulk of his points, where he won his 14th title at the tournament and his 22nd Grand Slam by defeating Casper Ruud in the final.

The southpaw, therefore, has plenty of opportunities to climb up the rankings once more, especially considering that he will have a longer time to practice on clay than most others on tour.