Rafael Nadal surprised many with his Indian Wells Open withdrawal, and he broke his silence on the matter.
The Spanish player made many fans happy when he stepped onto the court in Las Vegas to play Carlos Alcaraz at the Netflix Slam. However, due to how the past year went for him, we are never quite sure whether he will play an event.
When he stepped on the court, it was clear that this time, he wouldn't pull out of the match. It was great to see, and many assumed that he would play at the Indian Wells Open afterward. Why wouldn't he? He looked good and healthy.
Unfortunately, he didn't play at the event because he withdrew before it started. Many were surprised by the decision, even though some, like Andy Roddick, saw it coming.
He didn't really speak much about the decision when it happened, but he did shed some light on the matter in a recent interview with Marca. The reason for his withdrawal is simple - he didn't feel ready to go far at the tournament, so he didn't play.
"The reality is that I didn't feel ready to start playing a tournament at this level, with the little training background I had behind me at the level I needed."
"I didn't want to start a tournament coming from where I came from, with no guarantee of being able to advance to at least the levels that I think I need to demand of myself to try and start a tournament."
Put into context, the withdrawal makes sense. Nadal ultimately knows his body best, and if he's not comfortable with returning, then he should listen to himself, and not others, who criticized his decision to play the exhibition and not the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Ultimately, his goal was never going to be Indian Wells. It's clearly Roland Garros, so everything he did had to be considered that way. At this point, withdrawing made the most sense.
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