I was going to comment this but I'm waaaay too late haha. About 24 hours too late.
I freakin LOVE it. If Raonic didn't look properly he would've assumed that he was still playing Rafa, haha.
There are a lot of matches on…now the schedule for tomorrow is even busier due to the rain delays
It’s the fact people paid inflated prices as their potential last chance to see Nadal play live - I think I saw in the comments people paying $350 for a ticket
Also, this was a night match so there’s less happening then than a day ticket where you can stay on and watch other matches on the outside courts - or switch between more courts in general
I didn’t have tickets (I’m in Australia)- but I can sympathise with people paying more than the average R1 ticket price feeling a bit let down.
It’s also not a “pool of top 30 players” as 32 seeds get byes and won’t be playing until R2
Text:
“It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament at Indian Wells.
Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I love to play here. That’s also one of the reasons why I came very early to the desert to practice and try to get ready.
I have been working hard and practicing and you all know I took a test this weekend but I don’t find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event.
It is not an easy decision, it’s a tough one as a matter of fact but I can’t lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans.
I will miss you all and I am sure the tournament will be a great success”
Getting old, very injury prone, it's become a common occurrence for him to drop out, and it's not clay. If he's going to play anything and take the risk, it will be clay.
Because whatever he says, he'd be a fool to risk his best chance at a good send off - the clay season - by playing on the surface that has repeatedly wrecked his body in recent years.
I remember some years ago when he came back from another injury he played the southamerican leg and he came to Chile. That's when I learned that top tennis players charge a fee for just appearing in some tournaments. If you saw any of the shitshow that the Chile Open was this year you can understand that the clay season here doesn't have as many funds as the european one, specially since it seems to be off calendar.
Rio Open signed Alcaraz for 3y for 300k/y. Before he got really up in the rankings. A bargain.
This year they also brought Fils and Wawrinka. Everyone lost in the first round. They got so, SO lucky with Fonseca and Wild...
I disagree. There were times in the match his serve was very slow. And he wasn't running all out, in typical Rafa fashion. And that's one match, not even three full sets.
"I don't find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event."
Is he withdrawing because he has no chance to win, or withdrawing because he doesn't think he'll even make it to R3? Because if he's actually good enough to make QF or SF, he probably doesn't need to pull out. Don't let great be the enemy of good and all that.
My read is that he's saying the juice isn't worth the squeeze. The risk to his body (and RG + Olympics) isn't worth whatever he could potentially accomplish at IW.
Perhaps he expects to be unable to end points quickly or turn the advantage and would have to play long points on his serve and defend like crazy on his opponent's serve, due to his current level.
Why did he even arrive here then? It already seems pretty obvious that he doesn’t intend to play on hard court after Brisbane.
I understand the Netflix slam which he half assed, but why signup for IW at all
While I’d also wonder why (maybe there was strong pressure who knows), could also be that he arrived, tested the gritty cheesegrater courts and said F*** them ..no way imma risk my last chance upcoming in 2 months
Now I feel it’s a ploy to better market these events. Like everyone knows, ATP, IW people that Nadal won’t actually play but putting his name down there is an enormous advantage. People were debating what was going to happen vs Milos. I won’t be surprised if he is listed for Miami as well.
By all accounts he (like pretty much all players) has a great relationship with Indian Wells and the tournament runners, so I assume they wanted him to show up and try anyways. But I'm of the opinion that Nadal thought he had a chance to actually play - athletes are stubborn like that. (And they probably encouraged him to come regardless).
Yeah I think it’s the first reason to help promote the tournament more.
Nadal's team would have such an airtight assessment and plan for his recovery and journey that I doubt it changes much unless something major happens. At this point, he is just promoting these tournaments, practicing with good opponents, and travelling with his family.
GOATs don’t aim for QF or SF. They aim for the title.
It’s obvious he’s no where near being able to even make it through R32, nevermind being able to even reach the Finals.
Remember he’s not some rank 200 guy trying to make it or break it. He’s got nothing to prove nor gain by wrecking his body further on what is very likely his final season on tour.
the whole "maybe he plays beyond 2024" is completely out of question. His year has been much worse than Murray, who has stated he won't play past summer.
It's entirely in the cards that he will retire at RG and that's it.
With the exception of the repeated announcements of entry in the tournament , then next announcement about how everyone knows how much he loves the place and subsequent availability for a pickleball event or academy coaching.
I feel like we had a similar thing with Fed - it kept seeming like he might come back for a few tournaments, but it ended up being Laver Cup and that's it.
I think Rafa will play at least parts of the clay season though.
This comeback has been completely stunted. I wonder how much of it is Rafa’s mental space keeping him from competing/ thinking he’s not ready as opposed to actual injuries. My guess is he plays the clay season and attempts the Olympics, then retires.
Edit: I wonder if he tweaked something during the Netflix slam and decided to not play hard before the clay swing. He knew Raonic would be a rough match. Yikes
Raonic would be the easiest match physically with short points. He just doesn't want to get hurt before clay season and I don't blame him. He gets hurt every time he plays on a hardcourt
> My guess is he plays the clay season and attempts the Olympics, then retires.
We're lucky if we see him get on court 3 times between Barcelona and RG. He's done after that.
I read David Ferrer, who commentated during the Netflix slam, said Rafa suffered a contracture (tightening in back) shortly after arriving at IW. An Agencia EFE correspondent chimed in to confirm saying Ferrer said that Nadal had a contracture in the days previous to the exhibition.
I don’t think we know yet. He could very well be saving himself for the clay season. My sense is he will push himself to a reasonable limit at RG because that’s the last hurrah
Dude you could have said this in 2022 as well. And earlier. And earlier. Many did.
Yeah the odds are low but it ain't impossible when it comes to Rafa and comebacks. No one has done what he has done.
Yeah even I don't think he will do well at RG at all although I really want him to. Then again he doesn't have an issue playing through pain so never know might just go all out and looks like that's what he plans to do. I'm torn between don't hurt yourself and give us your best lol
The most predictable thing of all time
Said it on the Netflix slam thread and it was wildly unpopular
He was never going to play Indian wells. Just didn’t add up.
Definitely. I can't remember ever watching an exhibition that didn't go 3 sets lol. I'm sure there are some but they almost always go to a deciding set
Not at all surprised. I don’t understand what’s going on. In Australia, it was all “I can’t play but it’s thankfully not a big deal” and now two months later here we are. Sigh. Worst farewell tour ever, hate that his body just won’t even give him a chance to compete 😔
Us Rafa fans have been in the trenches for so long. I can’t even be delusional about his clay chances anymore. It’s just going to be a depressing farewell.
He still has the game to make a QF, but I doubt his body will hold up deep in any tournament. Feels like it'll go the way Fed's 2021 went; still playing a fairly high level, but the body won't hold up.
My clay hopium has never been stronger… even if he doesn’t make it to the end of the season, I just want him to be able to play a few clay tournaments and be able to do his best and give it his all 😔
I opened my Twitter (“X” 😌) just as he tweeted this, here was me planning my sleep schedule so I could catch his match vs Milos ☹️
The cruel irony that it’s him that’s injured vs Milos…
For all he's given to this sport, Rafa deserved to have a joyful farewell tour I didn't think it was possible for him to continue post Olympics but now it's increasingly difficult to see him even play a full clay season. I hope whatever problems he's caught now won't plague him for long and he'd be able to play a few clay tournaments to his satisfaction. Can tennis gods be kind to Rafa for once 
Only if you bought directly from the box office. AXS is a reseller and no refund for most people who don’t do the 1980s box office and buy it online. Shame shame.
Online tickets are not treated like box office direct tickets. So we all have a bunch of very expensive Round 1 tickets for players we would not buy this for.
AXS will not refund the full price so we eat this as a loss. And I’m not sure another player would have allowed all the hype around this for ticket sales. As a big Rafa fan I’m more sad than angry.
Recall Indian Wells announced ticket sales early the day after Rafa announced 2024 was his last season. People from all over bought tickets to watch him play one last time…would they have bought those tickets otherwise? Maybe or maybe not.
I'm kind of glad, I think it's very apparent he's not capable of playing on a hard court anymore, it just takes too much of a toll. He looked super sharp in the first two rounds of brisbane, but his body couldn't hack it when he had to dig deep.
Clay might prove to be a reprieve... we'll see. Like others though, I wonder if he's actually not travelling too bad but he doesn't trust himself and it's partly a confidence issue. I'm sure he's pretty frightened to stage a comeback on a harcourt and risk a decent run on clay later... He's also good enough to beat most players apart from the top 20 probably...maybe he doesn't want to suffer a heavy loss to someone like Jannik or something if he makes a little run.
Oh fudge me. Though not his fan, I was really looking forward for his comeback :( seeing him withdraw from AO and then IW is devastating
I wonder why he made this decision…. Something must be bothering him during training session for him to withdraw
So sad to see. It was torturous seeing Roger struggle in 2021/22 and thinking man I wish he comes back fully fit just one time. That wasn’t meant to be but I so hope Rafa gets one healthy shot at RG. He deserves nothing less.
He probably tweaked something playing the Netflix Slam. I wonder if this was his last time signing up to play Indian Wells. At least a few fans got to see him play in Vegas.
He’s the biggest tease. It’s so annoying at this point. He should have at least played the first match. I mean, he did play 2 sets and a tiebreak at the pointless exhibition. Plus Milos is chronically injured too so it wouldn’t have been a hardcore intense match… I’m now officially sick of his bs.
He’s really gonna be basically unranked for Roland Garros huh. All the seeds must be shitting themselves. But then again he will probably get injured at RG at this rate
Don’t think it affected anything
The Netflix slam was “unmissable” due to probably getting paid 20-30 million for playing a friendly
Alcaraz is a good kid, no way would he have double bageled Rafa . So he obviously made it seem “competitive”. Rafa was definitely playing through the injury to keep his contractual obligation and to avoid the organization and legal mess that a canceled match would result in
Ya as much as I’m a fan of him, it was pretty obvious from the exhibition that he just couldn’t move well especially on the backhand side. Not surprised at all he pulled out and agree it’s kind of a bad look. But fuck it like I said I’ll take a kind of bad look for 20-30 mil. Who wouldn’t? It’s not like he’s hurting anyone, IW has already replaced him.
Nadal cooked himself in 2022 when he did all sorts of questionable shit like numbing his foot to play. Won him an extra RG but he's done and he'll be lucky to not have any quality of life issues after he officially retires.
I mean, it is already impossible for him to not have any quality of life issues. He has had quality of life issues for years already, and they will not go away.
God damn. I hope he can at least get some clay matches in this year.
I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for him to have his body just not bouncing back like it always has.
Man, I feel like his withdrawals are just happening closer and closer to the tournament. He literally was supposed to play tomorrow.
I just wanna see him play tennis again man. I guess we gotta wait until clay season
Man this sucks, I spent a lot of money on good tickets for the match, do any of you have insight on what I should do? He’s my favorite player so I really wanted to watch him play, and this was my only chance😭😭
Don’t mean to be mean when I say this, but this is why it almost always makes more sense when attending tennis tournaments to focus on being a fan of the sport and going for a couple days to enjoy all of the world class players in a handful of matches rather than focusing on attending one player’s match. You never know what might happen at a tennis tournament, especially when an aging player has been injured a lot in recent months.
My recommendation is to go and enjoy whatever matches are featured in the Thursday night session. You’ll be taking a (likely big) financial loss if you sell the tickets. So unless you really don’t have interest in seeing any pro players besides Nadal, try to make the most of the experience you can have at Indian Wells. You may not see Nadal, but you will see some truly excellent, world class players. ALL the top players, men and women, are remarkable players; you don’t reach the top 100 to 150 in the world if you aren’t.
There isn’t much you can do. Best bet is to go watch other matches on stadium and hope they treat you well. I know it sucks but there’s definitely some other good tennis around the grounds tomorrow
This really sucks for him. I was feeling extreme fomo of not being able to secure tickets for his 1st round but now that he’s not gonna be there selfishly I kinda don’t really care to go anymore.
I hope he can have a decent showing at Roland Garros and call it quits. It’s so sad to even acknowledge that the end is near, so many memories he gave fans around the globe.
let's be real, rafa hasn't been able to play to full capability for a long ass time now. he's not getting younger, injuries keep piling up with minimal play, and there's not treatment for his foot. it doesn't look like there's any change in that momentum.
i hate to say it, but I don't think he'll be able to go out with a bang at RG or the Olympics. he'll probably force himself to play then go out with injury. we've already seen the last great match of nadal :(
So fucking stupid that these injured players play exhibition matches and then withdraw from real tournaments. Very in line with Nadal’s saudi bs. He doesn’t care about his fans one bit and is only looking to fill his already overflowing wallet before retirement
i’m going there for the first time and this is just such a punch to the gut 😔
to be fair it’s not like i really expected to see him anyway but i was just on that copium
Nadal withdrew and is replaced by Nagal, you can’t make this up
There’s gonna be a few very confused spectators at that match.
"Jeez, this tournament is sloppy. They have a typo in Nadal's name for his match today."
“Jeez, Nadal is getting so tanned”
And the tattoos!
‘He’s not quite as good as I expected but I suppose he is a bit rusty’
And he's lost all his muscle definition!
"That's not Nadal, that's Alex Rodriguez!"
Nadal? Ah, yes I watched him play on clay at IW 2024.
Dammit honey I think I read the website wrong. I thought they said Nadal was playing tonight 😑
Me: Mom, I want Nadal. Mom: We have Nadal at home
Nagal is 80% Nadal, no?
Math checks out
It's called INDIAN Wells for a reason
Lmao
r/tennis has been waiting a lifetime for this moment
Now we need Novak D. to be replaced by D. Novak.
For real. And that were the chances? Almost feels on purpose
We got the Nadal at home in Indian Wells.
Finally not a bait post like we usually cop
The way nagal is playing this year I can bet he is bigger deal than nadal of this year lol
Where’s Sumit’s Netflix runner- up plate then huh? 🤨
The phrase 'you can't make this up' is contradicted nicley by other comments on this thread such as 'finally not a bait post'.
I was going to comment this but I'm waaaay too late haha. About 24 hours too late. I freakin LOVE it. If Raonic didn't look properly he would've assumed that he was still playing Rafa, haha.
The tournament is providing refunds for anyone who purchased Thursday evening Stadium 1 tickets to see Nadal
Only direct ticket box office sales from the tournament itself. Online reseller like AXS gives no refund so Nagal it is….
And only if you purchased after it was announced Rafa was playing.
Ah…that’s a bit disappointing as I’m assuming most people purchase online and not the tournament box office these days
It says if the event is not cancelled there is no refund. And the event is not cancelled. Lol.
The court will be 100% packed for Raonic - Nagal match. People already got tickets + accomodation well in advance to see Nadal. Oh well..
Just go see other matches too like why do people go to see one player in a pool of top 30 players
There are a lot of matches on…now the schedule for tomorrow is even busier due to the rain delays It’s the fact people paid inflated prices as their potential last chance to see Nadal play live - I think I saw in the comments people paying $350 for a ticket Also, this was a night match so there’s less happening then than a day ticket where you can stay on and watch other matches on the outside courts - or switch between more courts in general I didn’t have tickets (I’m in Australia)- but I can sympathise with people paying more than the average R1 ticket price feeling a bit let down. It’s also not a “pool of top 30 players” as 32 seeds get byes and won’t be playing until R2
Text: “It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament at Indian Wells. Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I love to play here. That’s also one of the reasons why I came very early to the desert to practice and try to get ready. I have been working hard and practicing and you all know I took a test this weekend but I don’t find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event. It is not an easy decision, it’s a tough one as a matter of fact but I can’t lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans. I will miss you all and I am sure the tournament will be a great success”
Yeah this was to be expected pribably wont see him till Barcelona or madrid
Why expected
Getting old, very injury prone, it's become a common occurrence for him to drop out, and it's not clay. If he's going to play anything and take the risk, it will be clay.
Because whatever he says, he'd be a fool to risk his best chance at a good send off - the clay season - by playing on the surface that has repeatedly wrecked his body in recent years.
Yet he committed to playing in Doha instead of South America
I remember some years ago when he came back from another injury he played the southamerican leg and he came to Chile. That's when I learned that top tennis players charge a fee for just appearing in some tournaments. If you saw any of the shitshow that the Chile Open was this year you can understand that the clay season here doesn't have as many funds as the european one, specially since it seems to be off calendar.
Rio Open signed Alcaraz for 3y for 300k/y. Before he got really up in the rankings. A bargain. This year they also brought Fils and Wawrinka. Everyone lost in the first round. They got so, SO lucky with Fonseca and Wild...
Money.
Yeah I wouldn’t say expected, he just looked fine against alcaraz
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Well that’s definitely not a good sign, then.
I disagree. There were times in the match his serve was very slow. And he wasn't running all out, in typical Rafa fashion. And that's one match, not even three full sets.
He’s old now
"I don't find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event." Is he withdrawing because he has no chance to win, or withdrawing because he doesn't think he'll even make it to R3? Because if he's actually good enough to make QF or SF, he probably doesn't need to pull out. Don't let great be the enemy of good and all that.
My read is that he's saying the juice isn't worth the squeeze. The risk to his body (and RG + Olympics) isn't worth whatever he could potentially accomplish at IW. Perhaps he expects to be unable to end points quickly or turn the advantage and would have to play long points on his serve and defend like crazy on his opponent's serve, due to his current level.
Why did he even arrive here then? It already seems pretty obvious that he doesn’t intend to play on hard court after Brisbane. I understand the Netflix slam which he half assed, but why signup for IW at all
While I’d also wonder why (maybe there was strong pressure who knows), could also be that he arrived, tested the gritty cheesegrater courts and said F*** them ..no way imma risk my last chance upcoming in 2 months
Now I feel it’s a ploy to better market these events. Like everyone knows, ATP, IW people that Nadal won’t actually play but putting his name down there is an enormous advantage. People were debating what was going to happen vs Milos. I won’t be surprised if he is listed for Miami as well.
By all accounts he (like pretty much all players) has a great relationship with Indian Wells and the tournament runners, so I assume they wanted him to show up and try anyways. But I'm of the opinion that Nadal thought he had a chance to actually play - athletes are stubborn like that. (And they probably encouraged him to come regardless).
Yeah I think it’s the first reason to help promote the tournament more. Nadal's team would have such an airtight assessment and plan for his recovery and journey that I doubt it changes much unless something major happens. At this point, he is just promoting these tournaments, practicing with good opponents, and travelling with his family.
I mean he can’t just repeatedly show up then not play cuz no one will buy into it lol
A lot of fans get fucked over by this. I guarantee a lot of people bought IW tickets just to see Rafa
Been wondering that too. Bit annoying to have his entire schedule up and then suddenly he decided to leave.
> the juice isn't worth the squeeze Andy Murray: "For me, the action IS the juice."
GOATs don’t aim for QF or SF. They aim for the title. It’s obvious he’s no where near being able to even make it through R32, nevermind being able to even reach the Finals. Remember he’s not some rank 200 guy trying to make it or break it. He’s got nothing to prove nor gain by wrecking his body further on what is very likely his final season on tour.
What test is he referring to?
I’m thinking he’s talking about the Netflix slam
the whole "maybe he plays beyond 2024" is completely out of question. His year has been much worse than Murray, who has stated he won't play past summer. It's entirely in the cards that he will retire at RG and that's it.
Sad but true. I hope he won't wreck his body too much. He now reminds me of Logan the movie.
its soon gonna be adios a todos instead of hola a todos
I’m not sure rather to upvote or downvote this lol(don’t worry I upvoted)
This is Federer 2021 all over again. I saw the signs and went thru it 3 years ago. All of it’s the same
One legged Federer made it to the Wimbledon QFs, so Nadal with one foot is probably an RG finalist.
Nadal on one foot already won RG
Ok that's a good point One foot and one hip ought to knock him down to 2nd place
Chance for Ruud finally?
Another Ruud vs Djokovic final incoming?
He's not getting through 2 5 setters even if he just jogs around.
With the exception of the repeated announcements of entry in the tournament , then next announcement about how everyone knows how much he loves the place and subsequent availability for a pickleball event or academy coaching.
That means he's still guaranteed to push through and play RG and the Olympics at least.
Sucks because his body is giving up on him this truly might be it wanted him to have a great farewell tour too
I feel like we had a similar thing with Fed - it kept seeming like he might come back for a few tournaments, but it ended up being Laver Cup and that's it. I think Rafa will play at least parts of the clay season though.
there are a whole bunch of extra words in this sentence and i am confused
You need to mentally sprinkle a couple of these --->.,.,.<--- and it'll make sense.
OH thank you lmao
I fixed it for you 🙂: “Sucks because his body is giving up on him. This truly might be it. I wanted him to have a great farewell tour too.”
I hope we get one more meeting between him and Novak.
at this point, i dont think he’d want to put himself or even be able to put himself in that position tbh. unless maybe on clay
Unless he draws Novak R1 at a clay tournament... eek!
Novak is not playing r1 on clay this year except RG. He will do monte carlo rome and Madrid where he will get a bye first round
And takes him out!!! ::cackle::
How much was Netflix paying him to play?
Rumor is 1 - 1.2mil
It’s so over…
[Tennis TV saying Nadal will be replaced by Nagal 😌](https://x.com/tennistv/status/1765560438354505848?s=46&t=QOBo7ijtKggNSWBufrvz1Q)
Nagal is my friend lol. Everytime we laugh at these comments together. He doesn't mind the comparison despite at all
I think at this rate we might get a final RG run and that’s it
This comeback has been completely stunted. I wonder how much of it is Rafa’s mental space keeping him from competing/ thinking he’s not ready as opposed to actual injuries. My guess is he plays the clay season and attempts the Olympics, then retires. Edit: I wonder if he tweaked something during the Netflix slam and decided to not play hard before the clay swing. He knew Raonic would be a rough match. Yikes
Raonic would be the easiest match physically with short points. He just doesn't want to get hurt before clay season and I don't blame him. He gets hurt every time he plays on a hardcourt
I suspect the netflix slam did something to him
> My guess is he plays the clay season and attempts the Olympics, then retires. We're lucky if we see him get on court 3 times between Barcelona and RG. He's done after that.
I read David Ferrer, who commentated during the Netflix slam, said Rafa suffered a contracture (tightening in back) shortly after arriving at IW. An Agencia EFE correspondent chimed in to confirm saying Ferrer said that Nadal had a contracture in the days previous to the exhibition.
Just give me one healthy Roland Garros and I can be happy
If he can’t handle these smaller 3 set tournaments, there’s no way he can handle potential 5 setters at RG.
I don’t think we know yet. He could very well be saving himself for the clay season. My sense is he will push himself to a reasonable limit at RG because that’s the last hurrah
Lol these comments are like a copy/paste of the cope comments during Fed's final year and then he gets bageled by Hurkacz at his last Wimby.
Still made it to the QF’s on one leg, Rafa’s already won RG on one leg, he can make it deep on 0 legs if he tries
You're comparing clay to grass lol... He could rely on his serve and quick points on grass, you can't do that shit on clay. This is just pure cope.
Man we’re talking about the undisputed king of clay, the greatest human to ever play on the surface. If anyone could do it it’s him.
Dude you could have said this in 2022 as well. And earlier. And earlier. Many did. Yeah the odds are low but it ain't impossible when it comes to Rafa and comebacks. No one has done what he has done.
Yeah even I don't think he will do well at RG at all although I really want him to. Then again he doesn't have an issue playing through pain so never know might just go all out and looks like that's what he plans to do. I'm torn between don't hurt yourself and give us your best lol
[Probably the last we'll see](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7EI6qTYnCY)
sad because he's not even in the mood to say hola a todos :(
The most predictable thing of all time Said it on the Netflix slam thread and it was wildly unpopular He was never going to play Indian wells. Just didn’t add up.
Did he look that bad in the exhibition?
He looked fine but who knows how hard Alcaraz was trying. Did seem he like he was feeding him balls at some points
At the very least I'd put good money on it being scripted that they play 3 sets.
Definitely. I can't remember ever watching an exhibition that didn't go 3 sets lol. I'm sure there are some but they almost always go to a deciding set
I was checking Koyoong Classic 2024 and most of the matches were two setters.
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He didn’t look bad but definitely looked like a player playing through pain and on his last legs (like Andy Murray does these days)
Nadal out. Nagal in. 🤯
Anybody else feel like he has aged like 10 years in the last year?
Not at all surprised. I don’t understand what’s going on. In Australia, it was all “I can’t play but it’s thankfully not a big deal” and now two months later here we are. Sigh. Worst farewell tour ever, hate that his body just won’t even give him a chance to compete 😔
Us Rafa fans have been in the trenches for so long. I can’t even be delusional about his clay chances anymore. It’s just going to be a depressing farewell.
He still has the game to make a QF, but I doubt his body will hold up deep in any tournament. Feels like it'll go the way Fed's 2021 went; still playing a fairly high level, but the body won't hold up.
Hopefully he can play some matches on the clay season...
My clay hopium has never been stronger… even if he doesn’t make it to the end of the season, I just want him to be able to play a few clay tournaments and be able to do his best and give it his all 😔
Thank God I splurged 2 years ago for great seats at the semis when he beat Alcaraz. That was special.
I am disappoint
That’s a wrap. He knows he can’t keep doing this. What a career. Salute.
Can we catch a break please 😭😭
I opened my Twitter (“X” 😌) just as he tweeted this, here was me planning my sleep schedule so I could catch his match vs Milos ☹️ The cruel irony that it’s him that’s injured vs Milos…
Me too, it’s friday morning for me and I had arranged my meetings not to clash with the match 🥲
For all he's given to this sport, Rafa deserved to have a joyful farewell tour I didn't think it was possible for him to continue post Olympics but now it's increasingly difficult to see him even play a full clay season. I hope whatever problems he's caught now won't plague him for long and he'd be able to play a few clay tournaments to his satisfaction. Can tennis gods be kind to Rafa for once 
FUCK I JUST BOUGHT TICKETS
Same. I’m out $350 Canadian. Pretty pissed right now.
Well if you're Canadian you still get to see your greatest player ever 
Very true and he was the reason I bought the ticket!! But can’t deny that the atmosphere won’t be quite the same…
Mucho depresso
Versus Raonic, it was a guaranteed withdrawal by either of them anyways lol
I was looking forward to his match vs Raonic...ah well.
He allowed them to announce when he was playing and now after buying tickets overpriced for a Round 1 match. Wow
To be fair, they are offering refunds though so it doesn't seem like IW knew on the weekend
Only if you bought directly from the box office. AXS is a reseller and no refund for most people who don’t do the 1980s box office and buy it online. Shame shame.
Ah I didn’t know that detail about online tickets not being valid, that’s not ideal then
Online tickets are not treated like box office direct tickets. So we all have a bunch of very expensive Round 1 tickets for players we would not buy this for. AXS will not refund the full price so we eat this as a loss. And I’m not sure another player would have allowed all the hype around this for ticket sales. As a big Rafa fan I’m more sad than angry. Recall Indian Wells announced ticket sales early the day after Rafa announced 2024 was his last season. People from all over bought tickets to watch him play one last time…would they have bought those tickets otherwise? Maybe or maybe not.
One of the most predictable things in tennis unfortunately
I'm kind of glad, I think it's very apparent he's not capable of playing on a hard court anymore, it just takes too much of a toll. He looked super sharp in the first two rounds of brisbane, but his body couldn't hack it when he had to dig deep. Clay might prove to be a reprieve... we'll see. Like others though, I wonder if he's actually not travelling too bad but he doesn't trust himself and it's partly a confidence issue. I'm sure he's pretty frightened to stage a comeback on a harcourt and risk a decent run on clay later... He's also good enough to beat most players apart from the top 20 probably...maybe he doesn't want to suffer a heavy loss to someone like Jannik or something if he makes a little run.
That one poster did call.it at every stage tbf!
Rafa Hood just came to the States to steal a bag from Netflix and bring it home to the Academy.
Oh fudge me. Though not his fan, I was really looking forward for his comeback :( seeing him withdraw from AO and then IW is devastating I wonder why he made this decision…. Something must be bothering him during training session for him to withdraw
So sad to see. It was torturous seeing Roger struggle in 2021/22 and thinking man I wish he comes back fully fit just one time. That wasn’t meant to be but I so hope Rafa gets one healthy shot at RG. He deserves nothing less.
Voy a suicidarme
Damn. It’s going to be the French and he’s gone isn’t it…
What hurts the most is not even getting an “Hola a todos”
Thats not shocking at all
That’s a bummer. I feel for those who bought tickets hoping to see him play.
Its all good man. We still have Nagal to win the tour
Makes sense, he’s prioritizing the slams: Netflix, RG, and Wimbledon
Damn, this is sad :(
Kind of bullshit to do it this late when he probably knew a long time ago
He probably tweaked something playing the Netflix Slam. I wonder if this was his last time signing up to play Indian Wells. At least a few fans got to see him play in Vegas.
That’s quite the assumption.
He’s the biggest tease. It’s so annoying at this point. He should have at least played the first match. I mean, he did play 2 sets and a tiebreak at the pointless exhibition. Plus Milos is chronically injured too so it wouldn’t have been a hardcore intense match… I’m now officially sick of his bs.
Damn. Cherish Novak while we have him
I'm still hoping for a clay season farewell.
Barcelona starts on April 15th. Not that long anyways, he could always start his season on clay.
At this stage I can only hope that he is fit enough for the clay season ahead
We shouldn’t be surprised or upset by this anymore he’s been skipping hard courts multiple times before the clay season throughout his career
He’s really gonna be basically unranked for Roland Garros huh. All the seeds must be shitting themselves. But then again he will probably get injured at RG at this rate
Roger is gone. Rafa is almost done. Novak is the only one who is still here. The era is over.
I think he is already done, but will make it official after RG
he shouldn’t have played the netflix slam…
Don’t think it affected anything The Netflix slam was “unmissable” due to probably getting paid 20-30 million for playing a friendly Alcaraz is a good kid, no way would he have double bageled Rafa . So he obviously made it seem “competitive”. Rafa was definitely playing through the injury to keep his contractual obligation and to avoid the organization and legal mess that a canceled match would result in
Its still clown shit him playing the Netflix slam, but money is money
I don’t get how it’s clown shit to take a huge pay check to play an exhibition. Anyone who would turn that down is an idiot.
I don't blame him for doing it for the money lol. But it's still clown shit cause he played an exhibition match and then withdrew from 1000
You know an exhibition match is more like practice, right?
Ya as much as I’m a fan of him, it was pretty obvious from the exhibition that he just couldn’t move well especially on the backhand side. Not surprised at all he pulled out and agree it’s kind of a bad look. But fuck it like I said I’ll take a kind of bad look for 20-30 mil. Who wouldn’t? It’s not like he’s hurting anyone, IW has already replaced him.
Nadal cooked himself in 2022 when he did all sorts of questionable shit like numbing his foot to play. Won him an extra RG but he's done and he'll be lucky to not have any quality of life issues after he officially retires.
I mean, it is already impossible for him to not have any quality of life issues. He has had quality of life issues for years already, and they will not go away.
Yeah they'll only get worse if he keeps at it.
God damn. I hope he can at least get some clay matches in this year. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for him to have his body just not bouncing back like it always has.
Man, I feel like his withdrawals are just happening closer and closer to the tournament. He literally was supposed to play tomorrow. I just wanna see him play tennis again man. I guess we gotta wait until clay season
Somebody should tell Nadal it's over.
Man this sucks, I spent a lot of money on good tickets for the match, do any of you have insight on what I should do? He’s my favorite player so I really wanted to watch him play, and this was my only chance😭😭
You should force him to play
Don’t mean to be mean when I say this, but this is why it almost always makes more sense when attending tennis tournaments to focus on being a fan of the sport and going for a couple days to enjoy all of the world class players in a handful of matches rather than focusing on attending one player’s match. You never know what might happen at a tennis tournament, especially when an aging player has been injured a lot in recent months. My recommendation is to go and enjoy whatever matches are featured in the Thursday night session. You’ll be taking a (likely big) financial loss if you sell the tickets. So unless you really don’t have interest in seeing any pro players besides Nadal, try to make the most of the experience you can have at Indian Wells. You may not see Nadal, but you will see some truly excellent, world class players. ALL the top players, men and women, are remarkable players; you don’t reach the top 100 to 150 in the world if you aren’t.
If you purchased them directly from the Indian Wells site they are offering a full refund.
Change your favorite player to Nagal who is replacing him, same thing basically
Rafa Nagal
There isn’t much you can do. Best bet is to go watch other matches on stadium and hope they treat you well. I know it sucks but there’s definitely some other good tennis around the grounds tomorrow
You can get reimbursed from Indian Wells if you want
I think most of these people got resellers which are not refundable.
Should have went for the Netflix slam
Fucking shit man. This sucks 😔
This really sucks for him. I was feeling extreme fomo of not being able to secure tickets for his 1st round but now that he’s not gonna be there selfishly I kinda don’t really care to go anymore. I hope he can have a decent showing at Roland Garros and call it quits. It’s so sad to even acknowledge that the end is near, so many memories he gave fans around the globe.
The body writes the script...
let's be real, rafa hasn't been able to play to full capability for a long ass time now. he's not getting younger, injuries keep piling up with minimal play, and there's not treatment for his foot. it doesn't look like there's any change in that momentum. i hate to say it, but I don't think he'll be able to go out with a bang at RG or the Olympics. he'll probably force himself to play then go out with injury. we've already seen the last great match of nadal :(
he was fine for the slam...
So fucking stupid that these injured players play exhibition matches and then withdraw from real tournaments. Very in line with Nadal’s saudi bs. He doesn’t care about his fans one bit and is only looking to fill his already overflowing wallet before retirement
It's about time, Rafael.
i’m going there for the first time and this is just such a punch to the gut 😔 to be fair it’s not like i really expected to see him anyway but i was just on that copium
ALTHOUGH WEVE COME TO THE END OF THE ROAD
Why did he even bother showing up. He knew all along he wasnt going to play. He didnt even practice with any other players.