Wednesday, the day before his first-round match at Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal pulled out because he said he was not “ready to play at the highest level.”

The 37-year-old Spaniard played again in Brisbane in January after missing almost a year because of a hip flexor injury. However, he had to miss the Australian Open because he tore another muscle.

In a show event in Las Vegas on Sunday, he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. He was set to try to win his fourth title in the California desert.

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“It makes me very sad that I have to pull out of this great tournament,” the 22-time Grand Slam winner said in a statement.

“Everyone at Indian Wells knows how much I love this place and playing here.”One more reason I got up early and came to the desert to practice and try to get ready.

Adding, “I’ve been practicing hard, and as you all know, I took a test this weekend, but I don’t think I’m ready to play at my best at such an important event.”I really don’t want to make this choice, it’s really hard, but I can’t lie to myself and my thousands of friends. I’ll miss all of you, and I’m sure the game will go really well.

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Lucky loser Sumit Nagal will play Nadal in the first round against Milos Raonic.

This year, he has only played three games, and since November 2022, he has only played seven times.

One of them was at the Australian Open last year, where he said he was “mentally destroyed” after losing to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round because of another hip issue.