#Miami loves you back! Best of luck in your recovery – hope to see you back on the court soon! https://t.co/7WqFkkXNzk
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 16, 2021
Rafael Nadal will not be taking his talents to the 2021 Miami Open. He will skip the upcoming tennis tournament to focus on the clay-court season, adding one crucial reason for skipping, the back injury that bothered him at the Australian Open.
Nadal, 34, had reached Miami’s finals on five junctures, most recently in 2017, but has never won the title.
Nadal, currently ranked No. 3, has not played since losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarterfinals. He did not indicate which tournaments he was targeting for his springtime return ahead of the French Open.
Nadal the “King of Clay” has won a record-setting 13 times at Roland Garros.
Nadal fell to the third spot in the ATP rankings Monday and was surpassed by Daniil Medvedev, marking the first time someone outside of the Big Four (Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray) is in the top two since 2005.
Fans will be disappointed, but the beat goes on.
Photo/RafalNadal/twitter