Has Rafael Nadal ever missed the French Open? Everything you need to know about the Spaniard's participation in the clay-court Major

Rafael Nadal has missed three editions of the French Open since playing his first ATP match in April 2002. The Spaniard did not feature in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 editions of the clay-court Major before making his tournament debut in 2005.

2004 was the most recent year in which Rafael Nadal did not compete at Roland Garros. Argentina's Gaston Gaudio won the tournament that year by defeating compatriot Guillermo Coria in the final.

Nadal made his Grand Slam debut at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships but did not make an appearance at the French Open before 2005. That year, he entered the tournament after winning the Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open and the Italian Open.

Seeded fourth, Nadal reached the semifinals with wins over Lars Burgsmuller, Xavier Malisse, Richard Gasquet, Sebastian Grosjean and David Ferrer. Here, he beat then World No. 1 Roger Federer to book his place in his maiden Grand Slam final.

The Spaniard faced Mariano Puerta in the title clash and came back from a set down to win 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 and claim his first Major title.

Rafael Nadal went on to successfully defend his title at the French Open thrice. He also set a record of 31 consecutive wins in the tournament, surpassing Bjorn Borg's tally of 28 from 1978 to 1981.

The Spaniard's winning streak came to an end after he lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the 2009 tournament. However, he avenged the defeat by beating the Swede in the 2010 final.

This was the beginning of a new winning streak that saw Nadal come out on top in 39 consecutive matches and win the French Open on five successive occasions.

Nadal won his 10th title at the clay-court Major in 2017 and came out on top in each of the following three years as well to take his tally to 13 titles. After losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 semifinals, the "King of Clay" claimed his 14th title at Roland Garros by beating Casper Ruud in last year's final.

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Rafael Nadal's coach Carlos Moya claims Spaniard will try to compete at the Italian Open and French Open

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya at the 2022 French Open

Rafael Nadal is yet to play a match since his second-round defeat at this year's Australian Open. The Spaniard's absence from action has seen him drop out of the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time in almost 18 years.

The 36-year-old's coach Carlos Moya recently spoke to L'Equipe and stated that there isn't any time set for his return. However, Moya added that the objective is for the 22-time Grand Slam champion to play the Italian Open and the French Open.

"Of course these are difficult times because we missed tournaments that we love, but Rafa is a warrior, with an indestructible mind and when the time comes to return, we will be very motivated," Moya said.

"Right now, it is impossible to define the calendar, but if tomorrow when we see each other [and] everything is correct, the objective is to go to Rome and, if it is not possible, we will try to be at Roland Garros," he added.

Nadal currently has a record of 112-3 at the French Open and it will be interesting to see how he fares if he competes in the tournament this year.