SAN DIEGO — Rafael Nadal, the 21-time Grand Slam tournament singles champion, announced Tuesday that he had a stress fracture in his rib cage and would not play for “four to six weeks.”
Such injuries can be slow to heal and difficult to treat. Nadal, 35 and back up to No. 3 in the ATP Tour rankings after an outstanding start to the season, appears certain to miss a significant chunk of the clay-court season, including next month’s Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open.
Nadal is the most successful clay-court player in history, and 13 of his record 21 major titles have come at the French Open, which begins May 22.