Sumit Nagal was handed a straight-set defeat by Canada's Milos Raonic in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Nadal committed 30 unforced errors to Schwartzman's 17 and had his serve broken five times.
Rafael Nadal said on Saturday "too many questions" still needed to be answered concerning Novak Djokovic's bid to play at the Australian Open, while other leading players lamented how the saga had overshadowed the year's first Grand Slam.
Heavier balls to blame for slower game: Nadal
Alcaraz grinds down Zverev to win maiden French Open title
Lucky loser Taro Daniel will replace Nadal in the second round against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has made it to the semi-finals on his Olympic Games debut.
Images from Day 3 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Tuesday
While Daniil Medvedev remained the world number one, 2022 Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic dropped to seventh position after the grass-court Grand Slam tournament was stripped of ranking points for banning Russian and Belarusian players.
No tennis for four months, no problem for Rafael Nadal.
With Roger Federer and 2018 champion Novak Djokovic having already made exits, Nadal's path to a fourth US Open trophy has been cleared of familiar hurdles.
Thirteen-time champion Rafael Nadal, 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer and world number one Novak Djokovic were placed in the same half of the French Open draw on Thursday.
The major milestones in Djokovic's career
Australian Open chief Craig Tiley is confident Rafael Nadal will be at Melbourne Park for next month's Grand Slam despite testing positive for COVID-19, but he is still uncertain whether Novak Djokovic will be playing.
Stefanos Tsitsipas credited his stellar comeback win against Rafa Nadal in Wednesday's Australian Open quarter-final to his peace of mind, saying he had attained a state of "nirvana" during the match despite falling back by two sets.
Matching Roger Federer's record Grand Slam haul will act as huge motivation for Rafael Nadal
Nadal set to face Kyrgios clash in second round
Even though he withdrew from his semi-final tie with Denis Shapovalov, Nadal's run to the last four in Paris saw him reclaim the number one spot from Novak Djokovic on Monday.
Rafael Nadal's dominance on the red claycourts in Paris is unmatched, the Spaniard picking up his 13th French Open trophy last year to match Roger Federer's 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
Brazil right back Danilo has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after suffering ankle ligament damage in training on the eve of Friday's quarter-final against Belgium.
The 31-year-old Spaniard has not played since he withdrew from the season-ending World Tour Finals in London in November with a knee injury. He had already withdrawn from an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi that starts later on Thursday.
Nadal becomes just the fourth man to achieve 1,000 singles victories in the Open Era, behind Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,242) and Ivan Lendl (1,068).
'I am playing tennis because I love to play tennis'
Alberto Contador is auctioning his bike from the 2011 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France while Rafael Nadal is selling the shirt he wore when he won the 2019 French Open to raise money for the Spanish Red Cross' fight against the coronavirus.
Djokovic's challenger will be a 22-year-old who is bidding to become the first Greek to win a singles major.
Pummelling the ball with such force that it appeared distorted into an oval shape at times, the nine-times French Open champion was able to toy with his opponent until ready to finish him off.
Austria's Dominic Thiem strained every sinew trying to cling on to the 32-year-old Spaniard and at times even gained a precarious foothold in his first Grand Slam final.
'Last year I was one point away to the final. I felt competitive last couple of years, so why do I need to change that?'
Images from Monday's action at the Australian Open.
Fourteen-times grand slam champion Rafael Nadal has turned to fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya in an attempt to revitalise his career, the 30-year-old Spaniard said on Saturday.
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
According to Hola magazine, Nadal and Xisca got secretly engaged in May last year and now planning an autumn wedding this year.
A quick look at Rafael Nadal's domination of Roger Federer at Roland Garros.
The cool days of late September, with damp courts expected, will level the playing field and for the first time, other than when Rafael Nadal has been injured, he looks vulnerable on his beloved clay.
Eight-time Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl said whoever ends up winning the most majors among the 'Big Three' of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic should be considered the greatest male tennis player of the Open era. Federer, who will be 39 in August, leads the race with 20 Grand Slam singles titles, with Spaniard Nadal close on his heels with 19. Reigning world No. 1 Djokovic is three behind the Swiss with 17 majors under his belt and is the youngest of the trio - at 32 he is a year younger than Nadal.
'The world is suffering in general, so we can't complain'
Nadal will have the chance to claim the top spot back on Monday if he wins his third title in Acapulco
Rafael Nadal is hungrier than Roger Federer and is likely to overhaul his Swiss rival's grand slam title tally to become the most decorated player ever, according to former world number one Mats Wilander.
The 12-time French Open champion unhappy with schedule.
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