Italian Open: Rafael Nadal set to miss marquee tournament due to hip injury

Rafael Nadal won’t be able to play the Italian Open either as he remains hampered by a nagging hip injury. “I’m sorry to announce that I won’t be able to be in Rome,” Nadal said in a Twitter post in Spanish on Friday. “You all know how much it hurts me to miss another one of the tournaments that has a place in my career as a professional and a person as well as for the support my Italian fans show me.”

Nadal has won the Italian Open a record 10 times. The 22-time Grand Slam winner has been sidelined since January by a left hip flexor injury he picked up at the Australian Open. The issue had already kept him from playing at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid.

Nadal said even though he feels better he is not ready to play.

“Despite noting an improvement in recent days, it has been several months since I have been able to train at a high level,” he wrote. “The re-adaptation process needs its time, and I don’t have any choice other than to accept that.”

The 36-year-old Nadal did not mention his prospects for being fit for the French Open starting on May 28.