His absence from the tour aligned with his success in the early part of 2022 will mean Rafael Nadal drops out of the top ten for the first time in almost two decades.
Rafael Nadal will drop out of the top 10 in the ATP rankings later this month for the first time in almost 20 years.
Following Taylor Fritz's qualification for the semifinals in Acapulco, it has been mathematically confirmed that Nadal will leave the upper echelons of men's tennis after Indian Wells, having been there since 25 April 2005, a total of 912 consecutive weeks.
Nadal, who was in attendance for the Real Madrid - Barcelona Spanish cup clash on Thursday evening, reacted to the news. "It’s better to be top 10 than to be outside the top 10, but to be honest it's a miracle that I never left the top 10 in 18 years with all the injuries I had," he said.
Will Nadal win this year's French Open?
Of course, he could have one leg and still win
No, he's finished
This time last year, the Spaniard was in the midst of an unbeaten start to the season, which included titles in Australia and Acapulco, so the 22-time Slam winner is set to lose all those points earned as he is still out injured with a hip injury.
Earlier this week, Nadal gave an update regarding his progress from the injury he picked up when playing McDonald at the Australian Open in January.
"It’s been a while since I don’t communicate with you," Nadal tweeted. "Took my time off, started rehab, gym and physiotherapy as instructed by the doctors. Getting ready to come back in the best conditions. I am sad that I won't be able to compete at Indian Wells nor Miami. Very sad not to be there. I'll miss all my US fans but I hope to see them later this year during the summer swing."