'I can't lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans.' - Rafael Nadal withdraws from 2024 Paribas Open

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal withdrew his name before the first round match of 2024 Paribas Open aka Indian Wells on Thursday. Nadal says he is 'not ready to play at the highest level'.

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The 37-year-old player had also withdrawn from the ATP 250 event held in Doha in late February, but recently he was seen playing against another Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz in the Netflix Slam exhibition match.

Three-time champion reached the final in 2022 on his last visit to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, would have been making his second appearance of the year. 22 Grand Slam champion missed almost a year with a hip flexor injury and returned to action in Brisbane in January, where he won two matches. After that, he suffered a micro tear to a muscle near his left hip during a quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson in his last contested ATP match. As a result, he missed this years' Australian Open.

"It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament. Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I love to play here at Indian Wells. That's also one of the reasons why I came very early to the desert to practice and try to get ready." Nadal tweeted.

"I have been working hard and practicing and you all know I took a test this weekend but I don't find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event. It is not an easy decision, it's a tough one as a matter of fact but I can't lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans. I will miss you all and I am sure the tournament will be a great success," he added.

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Nadal traveled to California to compete in 2024 Paribas Open and also practiced in front of fans on Tuesday evening but will not play against Milos Raonic in the opening round. Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal will take part in this match in place of Nadal, who bowed out to South Korea's Hong Seong-chan in a tough match during the final qualifying round.

The main draw of the 2024 Paribas Open begins on Thursday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.