"Unfortunately I have to tell you that I am not going to be playing in Monte Carlo. My body simply won't allow me," said the battle-weary Spaniard on social media.
The Spanish icon's bombshell decision came four days after the 37-year-old lost a Las Vegas exhibition to compatriot and world number two Carlos Alcaraz.
"It's a good thing that as a player I will not face him many times," said Nadal, who expects to retire in 2024 after a series of injuries limited his appearances on the circuit.
"Everywhere you look in Saudi Arabia, you can see growth and progress and I'm excited to be part of that," Nadal, who pulled out of the ongoing Australian Open with a muscle injury, said in a statement.
The 37-year-old returns to the courts in Brisbane this week, almost a year since he last played professionally before an injury curse that has long plagued him returned with a vengeance.
Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, makes his comeback after a near year-long injury absence at the Australian Open warm-up event in Brisbane starting Sunday.
Nadal dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in 20 years earlier this season and has slipped to number 668 but is eligible for a protected ranking having been injured and not competing for at least six months.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion has undergone surgery twice in 2023 after struggling with a hip injury.
"I believe that numbers are numbers and statistics are statistics. In that sense, I think he (Djokovic) has better numbers than mine and that is indisputable," Nadal said in an interview with AS published on Wednesday
Rafael Nadal lost his opening match of the season Saturday in the countdown to the defence of his Australian Open title, but women's world number one Iga Swiatek cruised to victory at the United Cup.
Rafa Nadal knows all about resilience in sport and the 22-times Grand Slam tennis champion said Lionel Messi's Argentina can shake off the disappointment of their stunning World Cup defeat by Saudi Arabia and have a deep run in Qatar. knows all about resilience in sport and the 22-times Grand Slam tennis champion said Lionel Messi's Argentina can shake off the disappointment of their stunning World Cup defeat by Saudi Arabia and have a deep run in Qatar.
A tearful Roger Federer ended his historic career with defeat alongside long-time rival Rafael Nadal in a doubles match at the Laver Cup in the early hours of Saturday.
Sitting courtside Rafa Nadal cried as his great rival, Roger Federer, bid an emotional farewell to tennis at the Laver Cup on Friday, later saying an important part of him was also leaving the men's Tour with the retirement of the Swiss.
Rafa Nadal said it was sad news that his great rival Novak Djokovic will be missing from the U.S. Open, adding that the absence of a player of the Serbian's calibre was an important miss for the hardcourt Grand Slam.
A hurting Rafa Nadal exhibited heroic mental strength to edge American 11th seed Taylor Fritz in a final set tiebreaker during a captivating Wimbledon quarter-final on Wednesday to keep alive his quest for a calendar year Grand Slam.