(Reuters) Rafa Nadal will skip the Miami Open Championship which begins later this month in a bid to recover from a back injury in time for the clay-court swing, the Spaniard said yesterday.
Nadal had not played since his quarter-final exit at the Australian Open Championship last month and also skipped the ATP 500 event in Dubai.
The 34-year-old player has since knocked down one place in the rankings to third after Russian Daniil Medvedev.
“Sad to announce that I will not be playing in Miami, a city I love. I need to make a full recovery and prepare for the European clay court season, ”Nadal wrote on Twitter.
A tough tournament at the Miami Open that Nadal has never won despite reaching the final five times between 2005 and 2017.
The Spaniard could possibly be targeting the Monte Carlo Masters in April and the Madrid Open Championship in May as he tries to get into top shape for the French Open Championship where he has won a record 13 times.