Before it was announced that he had suffered a cracked rib in the Indian Wells final, Nadal revealed the pain he was in. (0:52)
The French Open, which is two months away, is in jeopardy because of a rib injury to Rafael Nadal.
After arriving in Spain from the United States, Nadal had an exam that showed he had a stress fracture on one of his ribs.
He injured himself in the semifinals at Indian Wells. Nadal lost in the final by a score of 2-0.
This is not good news and I did not expect it, Nadal wrote.
Nadal was 20-0 to start the season, including winning the Australian Open, before he lost in the second round of the hard-court tournament in California. It was the best start to a season since 1990. In addition to the titles in Melbourne and Acapulco, Nadal also won them.
Nadal said he was getting to a very important part of the season feeling well and with good results.
During the final against Fritz, Nadal was treated by a trainer and he said the problem began the night before during his semifinal against Alcaraz.
Nadal said it was very uncomfortable when he tried to breathe and that it was painful.
At the Australian Open in January, Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam title.
The 14th French Open title will be Nadal's at the end of the month. He was in the semifinals of the Paris tournament last year.
The Madrid Open will likely depend on how Nadal recovers from his injury. He is a five-time champion. He won't be playing in the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open next month.
Nadal had already decided to skip the tournament in Florida and head home to Spain to prepare for the clay-court season.
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