Here's a look at Nadal's other early exits from the tournament:
With the ATP Finals coming up next month, Nadal said on his Facebook page he had made the decision to pull out of next week's Basel tournament after getting medical advice.
The 33-year-old said that he has not had enough time to practise sufficiently due to inflammation in his left wrist.
Rafael Nadal has issued a rallying cry and called on Spanish athletes to help raise 11 million euros ($12.07 million) to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. Spain is one of the most badly affected countries in the world with over 56,000 cases and the parliament voted to extend the coronavirus lockdown to at least April 12 after the death toll rose to over 4,000 by Thursday.
Professional tennis has been suspended until the end of July, at the earliest, and Rafael Nadal said that serious problems stand in the way of a resumption. Nadal, 33, said that even when tennis does resume the players will need to recover their fitness levels.
World number one Novak Djokovic's French Open preparations were dealt with a blow as he suffered a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 defeat by Russian Daniil Medvedev in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Friday.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal, who beat Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to win his 11th French Open title on Sunday:
The Serb was knocked off top spot by Rafael Nadal on Monday despite winning the Paris Masters last week and will need a strong finish alongside the River Thames to snatch it back.
Roger Federer, being the gentleman he is, accepted Rafael Nadal's invite to launch the 9-time French Open champion's tennis academy in Spain.
However, the 33-year-old Spaniard will not know until later on Friday whether his Herculean effort was in vain.
Rafael Nadal is chasing a historic 10th French Open title in Paris, but nothing will ever come close to trying to win his second.
They were each handed a torch in the Jardin des Tuileries after several top sporting names, including French soccer great Zinedine Zidane, Spain's 14-times French Open tennis champion Rafael Nadal, American 23-times Grand Slam winner Serena Williams and Romanian gymnastics great Nadia Comaneci.
The second round match against Argentine Federico Delbonis lacked nothing in quality power tennis but was almost entirely devoid of drama and the most notable incident came late in the third set when the ball flew off top seed Nadal's racket and hit a ballgirl on the head.
No sooner had Novak Djokovic claimed his 17th Grand Slam trophy by triumphing at the Australian Open for the eighth time on Sunday, the Serb was already setting himself a deadline to claim the record of major titles. Djokovic's 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in a thriller over fifth seed Dominic Thiem drew him within three slams of Roger Federer's haul of 20 and two behind second-placed Rafa Nadal's 19.
Rafael Nadal reclaimed top spot in the men's ATP rankings on Monday
Rafael Nadal put in some late-night overtime to drag hosts Spain into the Davis Cup semi-finals but Novak Djokovic's hopes were dashed in excruciating fashion as Serbia bowed out on Friday.
Federer beats Ruud, becomes oldest man to reach French Open 4th round since 1972
Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal will return to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships exhibition event in Abu Dhabi in December.
Twelfth seed Djokovic resumed two sets to one ahead after snatching a third-set tiebreak the previous night before Wimbledon's 11pm curfew left the match on a knife edge.
Images from Day 9 of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Monday.
Rafael Nadal has criticised Wimbledon's unique seedings formula, which could hinder his chances of a third title when the tournament starts on Monday.
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. But it ultimately proved a futile mission as, just like in all but two of Nadal's previous 87 matches here, the relentless Spaniard proved insurmountable, winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled off one of the biggest wins of his short but remarkable career by beating Rafael Nadal 6-4 2-6 6-3 on Spanish soil on Saturday to book his place in the Madrid Open final against world number one Novak Djokovic.
Kyrgios was raging after losing a challenge on his first serve and then smashed down an unstoppable, untouchable second.
Rafael Nadal suffered a shock 7-5, 6-3 defeat by Austrian Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Friday, a result that means the Spaniard will lose the world number one ranking.
Rafael Nadal, whose all-time claycourt record now stands at 414-36 says nobody should assume his feats are routine and that each victory is celebrated like the first.
Rafael Nadal continued his imperious run of form as he swept aside American Donald Young 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in the Wimbledon second round on Wednesday.
Tennis is on hold until at least the start of August because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while there have been positive noises about the prospects of the US Open taking place, followed by the French Open, Rafael Nadal served a dose of reality.
Nadal kept up his bid for a third Wimbledon and French Open double, putting on an ominous show to beat Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-4 7-6(3) on Friday on Centre Court and reach the last 16.
Rafael Nadal may have won the French Open a record 12 times but the Spaniard feels this year's conditions will be the most difficult he has ever faced at Roland Garros and mean he must be at his best to have a chance of retaining his title again.
Serbian tennis star Djokovic and wife Jelena Djokovic had announced that they will donate a million euros to help the people of Serbia combat the coronavirus. Nadal has expressed gratitude to Djokovic for contributing to his fund to aid the fight against the coronavirus.
French Open champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week's Aegon Championships at The Queen's Club after advice from his doctors to rest, organisers announced on Tuesday.
Rafael Nadal smoothly negotiated the potential stumbling block presented by Frenchman Benoit Paire on Monday, launching his bid for a 10th French Open trophy with a largely routine 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 win.
American Sam Querrey claimed the biggest title of his career with an emphatic 6-3, 7-6(3) upset victory over second seed Rafael Nadal in the final of the Mexican Open.
"I don't know what can happen in the future or not. But yeah, 11 here already is something really unbelievable. I always say the same. It looks, for the most of you, and even for me, looks so difficult to increase that number for anyone in the future. But if I did it, and I consider myself a normal person, probably someone else is gonna do it."
'I think it's a great competition but ... I can't change my mind that two world cups (within two months) is not real'
Rafael Nadal captured his 16th career Grand Slam title and third at the US Open
A win for Djokovic would move him past Pete Sampras (14) to outright third on the list of Grand Slam title winners.
The sight of immaculately-dressed line judges standing or crouching at the side and back of the grass courts has been a feature at the Grand Slam for 147 years.
'I really don't think much about these kind of things. I do my way, he does his way'
