“Appearance fee wasn’t high enough” Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from Acapulco has fans pondering what could be the reason for such an early announcement

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal returned to the Tour at the 2022 Paris Masters. The Spaniard played his first match since the birth of his son. The result was however against him as Tommy Paul got the better of him in 3-sets. Despite Nadal winning the first set, Paul won the match 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1.

With only the ATP Finals now left for the season, Nadal will be looking to wrap up it up and return to his newborn. Nadal had a brief media silence since the birth of his son and addressed a variety of topics before his match in Paris including the announcement of withdrawal from the 2023 Acapulco Open.

Nadal was the winner at this year’s Acapulco Open defeating British No. 1 Cameron Norrie in the finals in an all-southpaw showdown. The Spaniard will not be however going for the title defense and his 5th title in Mexico taking a hit of 500 ranking points as well next year.

Also Read: Daniil Medvedev calls out chair umpire Nacho Forcadell for doing a “bad match” following his second-round exit from Paris Masters

Rafael Nadal had become unaffordable for the Acapulco Open last year

Nadal is the second highest-paid tennis player with a total career prize money of US$131,661,446 and counting. With a glorious career of more than two decades, money could hardly be the motivation for the 22-time Grand Slam champion to compete or skip a tournament.

However, prior to the 2021 Acapulco Open, Nadal’s withdrawal from the tournament crossed paths with Raul Zurutuza‘s, the tournament director, comments. While Nadal said the withdrawal was due to his fitness, Zurutuza had said the appearance fee for Nadal could not be matched in the Pandemic affected season.

Fans however remained confused about why Nadal made such an early announcement on his next year’s schedule. The next year’s tournament starts on 27th February, giving more than a month for Nadal to rest after the 2023 Australian Open concludes. Nevertheless, the withdrawal was a sad occasion for Nadal’s fans, especially the ones in Mexico.

Nadal now has a week to get ready for the 2022 ATP Finals in Turin starting next week. The most successful men’s singles major winner is yet to win the year-end championships and could also reclaim the World No. 1 rank if things indeed go his way in Italy next week.

Also Read: “Fraud Claydal finished, time to pump up injections” Rafael Nadal gets heavily bashed on social media for his ‘shameful’ loss in the Paris Masters opener

Also Read: “Has turned racquet smashing into an art form” Fans berate Daniil Medvedev after he racquet abuses twice in the same match at the Paris Masters

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