Forfeit of Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros: “Painful and sad” reacts Carlos Alcaraz

“All my support Rafa!wrote the one who will be cited among the favorites to succeed Nadal in Paris. It’s very painful and very sad for everyone to learn that you won’t be there at Roland-Garros or that you could no longer play this year. I hope 2024 will be a great season for you and that you can say goodbye as the great champion that you are..” For its part, the Parisian Grand Slam assured that Nadal “will miss” at the tournament, wishing him to come back stronger on the court and to see him again next year on the clay courts of Paris.

Mauresmo “extremely disappointed”

Director of Roland-Garros, Amélie Mauresmo also reacted to the package of the master of the Parisian clay court: “I am extremely disappointed for Rafael Nadal. I am also for the public at Porte d’Auteuil as well as for all tennis fans, who will be deprived of this immense champion this year. Rafael Nadal, whose destiny is intimately linked to that of the Roland-Garros tournament which he won fourteen times, will obviously be greatly missed.

“But at this moment, I think of him first and imagine the pain and sadness he must be feeling after having to make such a decision. It must have been heartbreaking. We now hope that he is recovering as quickly as possible in order to see him quickly tread the tennis courts and find him again next year at Roland-Garros.”

Daniil Medvedev was on the court for his quarter-final in Rome won against Yannick Hanfmann but he was not surprised by an announcement which was ultimately a confirmation. “Will it be the first Roland without Rafa for I don’t know how long, ten years?“, he first asked himself, being mistaken by nothing, barely… nine years old (2004). “And of those ten, what did he win? Eight or nine? (seven actually). It opens up the possibilities for a lot of players. Even without being 100% physically if he had decided to play, he would have been the favorite.”

“I hope he comes back as soon as possible. He’s an incredible player, an incredible athlete, one of the greatest of all time. We can debate that if you want (laughs). Hopefully he will can come back to play other Grand Slams“. It’s everyone in tennis who wants it.