The incredible start to the season of Rafael Nadal, winner of three tournaments at the beginning of the year (including the Australian Open 2022) and stopped only by Taylor Fritz in the final of the Indian Wells Master 1000 after a 3-game winning streak, seemed to herald yet another season on clay dominated by the Majorcan champion.
However, the stress fracture in the side remedied in the final acts of the American tournament has upset the plans of the 21-time slam champion, who will be forced to stay away from the courts for 4 to 6 weeks. If his absence in Monte Carlo is now certain, his presence at the ATP 500 in Barcelona is still in the balance.