Rafael Nadal turns into newest to tug out of Miami Open

Nadal is a five-time finalist on the match however hasn’t performed in Miami since 2017. His absence implies that neither of the winners of this yr’s first Grand Slam match will likely be within the event; he gained the Australian Open for his record-setting 21st main identify, and girls’s champion Ashleigh Barty additionally withdrew previous this month.

Nadal’s choice got here 3 days after Novak Djokovic introduced that he wouldn’t be taking part in at Indian Wells or Miami as a result of he’s unvaccinated and will’t go back and forth to the USA.

“Rafa will for sure be ignored. He has such a lot of fanatics right here in South Florida, and we are hoping to look him again in Miami subsequent yr,” Miami event director James Blake mentioned.

Nadal, who’s taking part in Indian Wells, is these days ranked No. four on the earth. He used to be a Miami finalist in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2007 _ with all the ones occasions happening on the event’s former South Florida house on Key Biscayne.

The Miami Open begins March 21.