Rafael Nadal Xinhua

Rafael Nadal out of Miami Open with back problem

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Mar 16, 2021 4:03 PM ET

All-time tennis great Rafael Nadal, tied with Roger Federer atop the men's career Grand Slams list with 20, announced on Tuesday that he won't play in the Miami Open that begins next Monday.

Sad to announce that I won’t be playing in Miami, a city that I love. I need to fully recover and get ready for the clay court season in Europe. Special message to my fans in the US and in particular to the great Spanish speaking community FL who always give me a great support!
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) March 16, 2021

Per D'Arcy Maine of ESPN, the 34-year-old dealt with a back injury during last month's Australian Open.

Maine added that Nadal has qualified for the Miami Open final on five occasions, most recently in 2017, but has never won the tournament. The event's Twitter account responded to Nadal's announcement:

#Miami loves you back! Best of luck in your recovery - hope to see you back on the court soon! https://t.co/7WqFkkXNzk
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 16, 2021

Nadal hasn't played a competitive match since falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinal round of the Australian Open. It's unclear when he'll resume his season.

On Monday, the Miami Open confirmed that former world No. 1 Andy Murray received a wildcard entry to play in the tournament. Murray won the event in 2009 and 2013.

This year's Miami Open will run at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens from March 22-April 4.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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