(Reuters) -Holder Rafa&nbsp;Nadal&nbsp;will&nbsp;miss&nbsp;the&nbsp;French&nbsp;Open&nbsp;after failing to regain full fitness from a hip injury suffered at the Australian&nbsp;Open&nbsp;in January, and the 14-times Roland Garros winner added he expects to retire following the&nbsp;2024&nbsp;season.
Nadal, who has dominated the claycourt season for close to two decades, has competed at Roland Garros every&nbsp;year&nbsp;since claiming the first of his 22 majors in Paris in 2005.
"I'll look to be 100% ready for next&nbsp;year, which I believe will be the&nbsp;last&nbsp;year&nbsp;of my professional&nbsp;career,"&nbsp;Nadal&nbsp;told a news conference at his&nbsp;tennis&nbsp;academy in Mallorca, Spain.
"The evolution of the injury I sustained in Australia has not gone as I would have liked. I have lost goals along the way, and Roland Garros becomes impossible."
Nadal&nbsp;said he needs to stop playing for the foreseeable future to make a full recovery and return for what he anticipates will be his farewell season.
"I'll not establish a date for my return. I'll see how my body responds and take it from there," said the 36-year-old, who is tied with Novak Djokovic with a men's record 22 slam titles. "If I keep playing at this moment, I don't think I can be there next&nbsp;year.
"I don't know if I'll be able to come back in the highest level and compete for Grand Slams. What I will try to do is to give myself the opportunity to go back to what could be my final&nbsp;year&nbsp;competing at the highest level."
The&nbsp;French&nbsp;Open&nbsp;runs from May 28 to June 11.
French&nbsp;Open&nbsp;organisers said on Twitter: "We can't imagine how hard this decision was. We'll definitely&nbsp;miss&nbsp;you at this&nbsp;year's Roland Garros. Take care of yourself to come back stronger on court. Hoping to see you next&nbsp;year&nbsp;in Paris."
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who is set to reclaim the top ranking before the&nbsp;French&nbsp;Open, and world number three Daniil Medvedev said they hoped for a swift return to court for&nbsp;Nadal.
"Very painful and sad for everyone that you can't be at Roland Garros or play more this&nbsp;year," Alcaraz wrote on Twitter. "I hope that&nbsp;2024&nbsp;will be a great season for you and that you can say goodbye like the great champion you are."
Medvedev said the&nbsp;French&nbsp;Open&nbsp;draw would now be wide&nbsp;open.
"Even if he wouldn't be 100% physically, but decided to play, he'd be a favourite," Medvedev said in an on-court interview at the Italian&nbsp;Open.
"Hopefully he can come back, play some more Slams... He's an amazing player, amazing athlete, one of the best in history."
HIP PROBLEM
Nadal&nbsp;overcame a niggling foot injury to beat Casper Ruud in&nbsp;last&nbsp;year's&nbsp;French&nbsp;Open&nbsp;final. But he has struggled with his latest issue and has not competed since January after hurting his hip flexor in his second-round match against Mackenzie McDonald that effectively ended his Melbourne Park title defence.
Nadal&nbsp;was initially set to&nbsp;miss&nbsp;up to eight weeks but skipped claycourt tournaments in Madrid and Rome to build his fitness after being ruled out of events at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona earlier this season.
In March,&nbsp;Nadal&nbsp;fell out of the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time since 2005 and is currently 14th.
Nadal's 14&nbsp;French&nbsp;Open&nbsp;titles are the most by any player at a single major. He boasts a stunning 112-3 record in Paris and is widely regarded as the 'King of Clay'.
"With what that tournament is for me, you can imagine how difficult it is,"&nbsp;Nadal&nbsp;said. "I need to put a stop to my sporting&nbsp;career&nbsp;for a while. I will try to regenerate my body during these months."
Nadal&nbsp;added one of his goals for next&nbsp;year&nbsp;was to compete at the Paris Olympics, when the&nbsp;tennis&nbsp;tournament will be staged at Roland Garros.
"It's an extra motivation to focus in my return," he said. "I went through some very difficult&nbsp;years and I think it's time to take better care of my body, I have suffered a lot with injuries... What will happen next&nbsp;year&nbsp;I don't know.
"Roland Garros will always be Roland Garros with or without me ... there will be a new champion and I'm sure the tournament will be a big success."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, Fernando Kallas and Hritika Sharma; Editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar)

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Tennis-Nadal to miss French Open, 2024 likely to be last year of career