Rafael Nadal: When will he return after rib injury? What clay events will he miss? Will he play the French Open?

Rafael Nadal’s perfect season is no longer so. The 20-0 winning run came to an end in the Indian Wells final against Taylor Fritz on Sunday, and two days later Nadal confirmed that the breathing difficulties he experienced in the match were due to a cracked rib. Ad/> The injury is expected to prevent him from practising for four weeks and will have serious implications on the clay season.

WTA MiamiWatson battles past Rus in three-hour marathon at Miami Open2 HOURS AGO What clay events will Nadal miss? Nadal will now miss the Monte Carlo Masters, which is the curtain-raiser for the clay season on April 10 and could feature returning trio Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka. Djokovic will be allowed to play despite being unvaccinated after France changed its vaccine rules, while Thiem and Wawrinka, who have both enjoyed some of their best career moments on clay, are coming back from long injury lay-offs. Wawrinka’s first tournament in a year will be in Marbella from March 27.

Nadal is not only out of Monte Carlo, but he will also not play the Barcelona Open, which starts on April 18. If the diagnosis of four to six weeks remains correct, then the ATP 1000 Madrid Open on May 1 could be when Nadal returns. The tournament is followed immediately by the Italian Open on May 8 before ATP 250 events in Geneva and Lyon (May 15) and then the French Open on May 22.

Nadal is a 13-time champion in Paris and another victory would see him move two clear of Djokovic and Roger Federer in the all-time Grand Slam standings with 22. Djokovic is the defending champion after beating Nadal in the semi-finals last year. 2022 ATP Tour clay calendar Monte-Carlo Masters (April 10) Barcelona Open/Serbia Open (April 18) BMW Open/Estoril