Nadal withdraws from Indian Wells a day before “I’m not ready to play at the highest level.”

The return schedule of Rafael Nadal (652nd, Spain), who announced his retirement at the end of this season, has been postponed again.

Nadal announced the news of his absence through his SNS on the 7th (hereinafter Korean time) a day before his match at the Men's Professional Tennis (ATP) Tour Indian Wells Open (total prize money: $8,995,555).

"He trained hard for the tournament but found he was not yet ready to play at the highest level," Nadal said. "He is very sad to have to withdraw from the Indian Wells event."

Nadal, who has won 22 major tournament singles titles, has not been able to play since the Australian Open in January last year due to a hip muscle injury.

Nadal made his comeback after a year by participating in the Brisbane International held in Brisbane, Australia in early January, but suffered another injury during this tournament and missed the Australian Open, his first major tournament of the season.

After focusing on rehabilitation, Nadal aimed to participate in the Qatar Open in February, but withdrew his participation four days before the opening of the tournament.

Nadal had a strong will to participate in the Indian Wells Open, the first Masters 1000 tournament held this year.

On the 3rd, he faced Carlos Alcaras (Spain) in the 'Netflix Slam' event held in Las Vegas, USA.

However, he withdrew a day before the first round, and his return was postponed. 한국야동