Spain’s tennis star Rafael Nadal has canceled the upcoming Masters tournament in Indian Wells (USA) due to the consequences of his injury suffered at the Australian Open. Tournament director Tommy Haas announced this and wished Nadal a good healing process.
The tournament in the US state of California begins on March 8th. The subsequent ATP Masters in Miami (Florida) will also take place without Nadal. “I’m sad that I can’t compete in Indian Wells or Miami,” wrote the 22-time Grand Slam winner on social media, “I will miss all my US fans but hope to see them later in the year seen during the summer.”
The 36-year-old Spaniard was eliminated in the second round of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne in January due to an injury. A subsequent MRI scan revealed second-degree damage to the iliopsoas muscle, the main muscle involved in hip flexion in the groin, in his left leg.
He had forecast downtime of six to eight weeks. Now the time for “sports rest and anti-inflammatory physiotherapy” has come, Nadal wrote on social media at the time.