French Open event director Jean-Baptiste Perlant has opened up on Rafael Nadal's participation chances ahead of the 127th edition of the Grand Slam event. Perlant stated that Nadal is trying his best to regain fitness for the marquee sporting event.
The Spainard has not played since the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury and is battling to get fit for the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament, starting in Paris on May 28th. The veteran also withdrew from the Madrid Open after surpassing the initial healing period of six to eight weeks.
Perlant revealed that he had a word with Nadal, who claimed to be preparing for the clay-court event at home. He spoke to the French publication L'Equipe:
"I offered him [Nadal's agent Carlos Costa] one of the wildcards. He very kindly told me that Nadal was continuing his preparation at home, that he was not ready and was in a race against time to be ready for the French Open."
French Open announces increase in prize money:
Meanwhile, the organizers of French Open have recently announced a surge in prize money. According to Sky Sports, the prize money is 49.6 million euros, up 12.3 percent from 2022. The amount for Roland Garros singles draws has gone up by 9.1 per cent on 2022 as the organizers claim that they have decided this to ensure an even distribution between players.
The losing participants in the initial three rounds will earn 11 per cent and 13 per cent more in 2023, while there is also a raise by an average of 11.8 per cent for the three rounds of the qualifying competition. The men's and women's champions stand to receive €2.3m each. The organizers also announced a four per cent increase for the men's and doubles competitions. Furthermore, the allocation for wheelchair and quad bouts has also seen a 40 per cent rise.
