Rafael Nadal calls press conference on Thursday to announce whether he will play at French Open

Rafael Nadal has called a press conference to announce whether he will play the French Open.

Nadal, 36, hasn’t played since losing in the second round of the Australian Open in January.

He has been seen practising on clay in a bid to be fit to defend his title in Paris, where he is a 14-time champion.

The press conference will be at 3pm UK time on Thursday, May 18.

A statement from Nadal’s team said: “Tomorrow (18th) Rafa Nadal will hold a press conference at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar at 16:00 CET (15:00 UK time).

“Whether or not he plays Roland Garros will be communicated then, as will the reasons why he decides one thing or the other.”

If Nadal misses the French Open it will be the first time he has done so since 2004.

Nadal has been battling injury issues since withdrawing from the Wimbledon semi-finals last summer.

After the 2022 US Open he only returned at the end of the season to play the Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals.

He played two matches at the United Cup to start the 2023 season and then lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Mackenzie McDonald.

However, he has not played any matches since and his chances of returning for the French Open look slim.

As defending champion in Paris, Nadal has 2,000 ranking points to defend.

If he doesn’t play the tournament he will drop out of the top 100 in the world rankings.

Nadal’s exit would leave Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz as the leading contenders for Roland-Garros.

Djokovic is a two-time champion in Paris while Alcaraz would be looking to win a second major after his US Open win last summer.

– – –