Rafael Nadal will miss the Australian Open and as a substitute return to Spain for remedy on a hip harm he sustained on the Brisbane Worldwide.
Nadal, 37, made his long-awaited return after nearly a yr out with harm this week, successful his first two matches in Brisbane in straight units.
However he was injured in his quarter-final loss to Jordan Thompson on Friday.
Nadal mentioned a scan had proven a micro tear on a muscle however not in the identical space as his earlier long-term harm.
The Spaniard, who had not performed a singles match for 349 days previous to his opening win over Dominic Thiem, mentioned the consequence was “excellent news” however he was “not able to compete on the most degree”.
He mentioned in Could, after being pressured to overlook the French Open for the primary time in 19 years, that 2024 would “most likely” be the ultimate yr of his profession, that means he could have already performed his final Australian Open, a match he has gained twice.
However whereas his newest harm felt in the same place to that which led to “one of many hardest years” of his illustrious profession, crucially it seems it isn’t as important as he initially feared.
“I’ve labored very onerous throughout the yr for this comeback and as I at all times talked about my aim is to be at my greatest degree in three months,” 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal mentioned on social media.
“Throughout the unhappy information for me for not with the ability to play in entrance of the superb Melbourne crowds, this isn’t very unhealthy information and all of us stay optimistic with the evolution for the season.
“I actually wished to play in Australia and I’ve had the possibility to play a couple of matches that made me very glad and optimistic.
“Thanks all for the help and see you quickly!”
The Australian Open begins in Melbourne on 14 January.
Nadal will now deal with returning to health in time for the French Open, which begins on 20 Could and the place he’s a report 14-time champion.
His most up-to-date look at a Grand Slam was the 2023 Australian Open, when he struggled with harm in a second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald.
That was his closing look on courtroom earlier than having an operation on his left hip in June and the previous world primary has since slipped to 672nd within the rankings.
With Nadal’s withdrawal, this would be the first Australian Open since 1999 with out both Nadal or Roger Federer, who retired in 2022, that includes within the males’s singles essential draw.
Evaluation: Time will inform for Nadal
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent
Nadal expects – on the steadiness of likelihood – that this will likely be his closing yr, so he will likely be flying house with some unhappiness that he could by no means once more get the possibility to stroll out on to the Rod Laver Enviornment.
However the optimistic phrases outweigh the unfavourable ones in his publish on social media.
That displays the minor nature of the harm and the actual fact he was capable of get three matches, and two wins, below his belt in Brisbane – which isn’t a foul return for an unseeded participant weak to drawing a top-10 opponent in any first spherical.
Time will inform whether or not Nadal can keep freed from harm for lengthy sufficient to construct the match rely important to success later within the yr.
The 37-year-old is aware of the tip of his profession may come at any second – and so simply as he was not getting too light-headed about the way in which he performed final week, he isn’t going to be too morose concerning the verdict of this MRI scan.