Nadal withdraws from Qatar Open

Former 2014 champion Rafael Nadal has confirmed his withdrawal from the ATP 250 event in Doha next week because he is not yet in his best physical condition.

Nadal stated that he is not yet ready to compete despite recovering from his injury. He said: "I love Doha because I always receive so much love there. But I can't go to play this year. I will continue working towards the exhibition match in Las Vegas and the Indian Wells tournament."

Nadal hasn't competed since playing three matches at the Brisbane International in January. Photo: ATP — Nadal hasn't competed since playing three matches at the Brisbane International in January. Photo: *ATP*

According to Spanish media, Nadal has recovered from the muscle tear he sustained before the Australian Open. The 37-year-old has been training normally for the past few weeks but still feels somewhat uncomfortable. Nadal is scheduled to play an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas on March 3rd, followed by a Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells.

"Perhaps I've been training a little too hard," Nadal said about his fitness not being up to par. "My goal from the beginning was to enter the clay season in the best possible condition. I'm doing everything I can to enjoy the clay season."

According to Tennis365, the match between Nadal and Alcaraz was streamed live globally on Netflix, attracting a large audience. Tickets for the live event sold for $3,000 for prime locations and were completely sold out. Meanwhile, tickets for the stands also cost up to $500 and there were few seats left.

The organizers of the Qatar Open were disappointed by Nadal's absence. They had previously displayed posters featuring his image for promotional purposes. Nadal has good relations with Middle Eastern countries, having recently accepted an ambassadorial position in Saudi Arabia and running a tennis academy in Kuwait.

Despite the absence of former champion Nadal, the Qatar Open still features Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Gael Monfils, and Andy Murray. Among them, Medvedev is the top seed and the defending champion, while Murray was last year's runner-up.

World number one Novak Djokovic has won the Qatar Open twice, but in recent years he has often chosen to compete in the Dubai Championship. This ATP 500 tournament takes place a week after the Qatar Open, and Nole has won it five times. Djokovic recently announced that he will not participate in this year's Dubai Championship in order to focus his efforts on the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells.

Vy Anh

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