‘Coming back from the injury will be tough’: Sania Mirza on Rafael Nadal pulling out of French Open 2023

Rafael Nadal announced last week that he will not be able to defend his French Open crown this year after failing to recover from the injury he suffered in Australian Open in January. Since the shock second-round exit at Melbourne Park, during which he had injured his left hip, Nadal stayed out of action before missing the entire French Open tune-up events. And while the question remains as to whether tennis world has seen the last of Nadal at the Roland Garros, veteran India tennis star Sania Mirza is not willing to bet on it despite admitting that a comeback could be tough.

Nadal was diagnosed with a grade 2 injury following which he missed Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Spanish double in Barcelona and Madrid and the Italian Open as well. And amid the rising conversation on Nadal’s return for the French Open, the Spaniard dropped the bombshell. He has now ruled himself out for the entirety of 2023 season with an eye on Davis Cup return at the end of the year before, possibly, ending his career in 2024.

Speaking at a Sony Media interaction, Mirza opined that with Nadal’s career being defined by his ability to make a comeback, as seen during that run in 2022 when he bounced back from almost giving up the sport to winning Melbourne and Paris, one cannot bet against him not making a return.

She said, “It’s going be tough as he has been out for months. Obviously, it must have been extremely serious it must be, especially considering that he decided to skip French Open. Coming back from any injury can be challenging. But having said that, he is also a genius and he is Rafael Nadal so you can’t bet against him.”

She added, “It’s going to be challenging but he is one of those who like challenges. He loves challenging himself. He could’ve chosen the easier way by saying that I can’t do it. He really doesn’t need to but he took the tougher route. He’ll come back and we are really looking forward to it.”

With Nadal out, Novak Djokovic stands in fray to become the record Grand Slam winner in men’s singles tennis if he grabs his third French Open title at Roland Garros. But Serb faces a tough test with world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz in his half of the draw, hence teasing a blockbuster semi-final clash.

[Watch the LIVE coverage of Roland Garros 2023 on Sony Sports Ten 5, Sony Sports Ten 2 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) & Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels from 28th May 2023]