Tennis: Rafael Nadal undergoes surgery for injury which forced him out of French Open

The French Open 2023 is currently underway and Rafael Nadal is being surely missed. The 14-time Roland Garros winner decided not to play in his favourite slam owing to an injury he had suffered in the Australian Open in January earlier this year.

The Spaniard has now undergone the surgery for the same injury — arthroscopic surgery for injured left hip flexor to be precise — on Friday night, a day before his 37th birthday. Nadal's spokesman Benito Perez-Barbadillo informed about the surgery which took place in Barcelona.

Nadal picked up the injury during his second round loss against Mackenzie McDonald in the Australian Open on January 18 and hasn't played a single game since. The 22-time grand slam winner hoped to recover in time for the Monte Carlos tournament but that couldn't be the case. The Spaniard dropped out of French Open afterwards as he informed about his decision days before the ongoing grand slam.

"The evolution of the injury I sustained in Australia has not gone as I would have liked. I have lost goals along the way, and Roland Garros becomes impossible. At this moment, I won't be able to be at Roland Garros. With what that tournament is for me, you can imagine how difficult it is. I have no intention of continuing to play for the next few months," Nadal had said at the press conference.

He further said that he'd like to play for another year on the professional court but he couldn't say that with 100 per cent surety.

"My intention is for next year to be my last year on the professional tour, I can't say this 100 per cent because you never know what's going to happen," Nadal had added.

Notably, with 22 slams, Nadal is tied with Serbian Novak Djokovic for most grand slam titles among men. Djokovic, however, has the chance to go one up on Nadal if he manages to win French Open 2023 as he has already entered the Round of 16.

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