There will be a new French Open champion this year.
Rafael Nadal, who has won the grand slam tournament a record 14 times, announced he will not participate in this year's event.
Nadal has been dealing with a nagging hip injury for much of 2023.
During a press conference in Spain, Nadal said his body is not where it needs to be to compete for another title. The former No. 1 tennis player in the world added that he's going to stop training for a while to let his body and mind heal.
"Maybe two months, maybe one month and a half, maybe three months, maybe four months, I don't know," Nadal said.
The 36-year-old said that he hasn't been able to enjoy his tennis for the past couple of years because of numerous injuries that have forced him to stop playing for long periods at a time.
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However, Nadal isn't ready to retire.
"My goal, my ambition is to try to give myself an opportunity to enjoy next year. That's probably going to be my last year in the professional tour," Nadal said.
Nadal will go down as one of greatest male tennis players to ever play the game. He is tied with Novak Djokovic with 22 grand slam titles, more than any other male player to ever play the game.
Djokovic is scheduled to participate in the French Open, giving him the opportunity to overtake Nadal in the grand slam count for the first time.
The French Open begins on May 22.
