Lingering injuries have taken a toll on Rafael Nadal, causing the Spanish tennis star to pull out of the French Open later this month.

The King of Clay has competed at Roland Garros every year since 2005, claiming a record 14 singles title at that tournament but has not competed at all since injuring his hip in January.

His withdrawal leaves the favourite for the men’s tournament wide open, with the Spaniard and reigning champion of this event boasting a career record of 112-3 in 18 appearances at that competition.

In 2022 Nadal became the oldest winner of the French Open at 36 years old, though he only has a 1-3 record in matches played this year.

Nadal also mentioned that he expects that 2024 will be the final season of his tennis career.

At his press conference on Thursday, he said, “You can’t keep demanding more and more from your body because there comes a moment when your body raises a white flag,”. “Even though your head wants to keep going, your body says this is as far it goes.”

This year’s French Open runs from May 22 to June 11, with Nadal being another big name to pull out after Australian Nick Kyrgios withdrew following an injury when he was robbed.

While Nadal did not offer a date as to when he’d be back on the court, he did say that it could take months to recover.

He hadn’t competed since losing to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open in January when a left hip flexor restricted his movement, his earliest Grand Slam exit since 2016.

The 22 major singles titles won by the Spaniard puts him tied with Novak Djokovic for the most all-time by a man.

“Tournaments stay forever; players play and leave. So, Roland Garros will always be Roland Garros, with or without me, without a doubt. The tournament is going to keep being the best event in the world of clay, and there will be a new Roland Garros champion -- and it is not going to be me,” Nadal said. “And that is life.”

Nadal, who turns 37 on June 3 has captured 92 tennis trophies, the fifth-most in the Open era, plus he has over 1,000 match victories on the ATP tour and he captured a gold medal in the men’s singles tennis competition at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.