Rafael Nadal: announcing his withdrawal from the tournament

Rafael Nadal has lamented his exit from the French Open at Roland Garros, where he had won nine titles..

“Today is one of the toughest days. Having to withdraw from arguably the most important tournament of my career, a tournament that I love so much. I will be back in Roland Garros in the next years and hope to keep having chances in the future. Many thanks to all my fans for the support.”, he said on his Facebook post.

His withdrawal announcement was the most dramatic incident at the second tennis Grand Slam of the year.

Nadal showing the blue cast on his hand

Carrying a blue cast on his wrist, Nadal reported that there is damage to a tendon in his left wrist, and that surely puts him in doubt for Wimbledon, whatever optimism he tried to muster.

Difficulties in this area have played havoc with the career of Juan Martin Del Potro since his stunning US Open win in 2009.

For now it must be extremely unlikely that Nadal will take his place in the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club prior to Wimbledon, as he will be immobilised in that area for two weeks.

‘We’re going to work hard to be ready for Wimbledon. For the moment I need a couple of weeks with the immobilisation then we’re going to do the treatment,’ said Nadal, who revealed that he first felt it three weeks ago at the Madrid Open. ‘We expect to recover quickly, to be ready for Wimbledon, but it’s not a moment to talk about that.”

*Additional report by Mail Online