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Nadal was forced to skip the Masters 1000 event
in Indian Wells last month as well as the Miami Open that ended
last week, as he continues his recovery from a hip issue that
ended his Australian Open title defence in the second round in
January.
"Unfortunately I am still not ready to compete and will miss one
of those special tournaments I always love to play," Nadal said
in a statement.
"Monte Carlo is and has been a key event in my career, but
unfortunately I will have to miss it again since I am still not
ready to compete without the risk of getting injured. I will
continue the process of getting ready to come back."
His absence from competitions means that Nadal days ago dropped
four places to 13th in the rankings, ending his record 912-week
stay inside the top 10.
The Spaniard, who has won Monte Carlo 11 times in his career
still hopes to be fit for the French Open in May, a clay court
tournament he has dominated for years, having won there 14
times.
Alcaraz, who had an injury-plagued start to the season, will
also miss the tournament. The 19-year-old was last in action
last week at the Miami Open, where he was beaten in the
semi-final by Italian Jannik Sinner.
"After two months of competing, I am happy to be back home but
sad that I finished my semi-final match in Miami with
discomfort," the U.S. Open champion said in a post on social
media.
"After visiting my doctor today ... and being evaluated, I won't
be able to go to Monte Carlo to start the clay court tour.
"I have post-traumatic arthritis in my left hand and muscle
discomfort in my spine that needs rest to cope with all that is
to come."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly, Writing by Karolos Grohmann,
additional reporting by Aadi Nair; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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