Rafael Nadal on Friday announced that he will not be participating in the US Open. Nadal said that he will not play tennis again this year due to a foot injury. Earlier this year, Nadal had opted out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics citing fatigue. The last major tournament he had featured in was the French Open 2021, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles semifinal.
“I am very sorry to announce that I won’t be able to keep playing tennis during the 2021 season,” Nadal said in a video he posted on Instagram.
Nadal said he has been suffering a lot and needs to take some time off to find a solution to his foot. He added that he had missed a lot of important events due to the foot.
Nadal has battled a chronic foot problem for a large part of his career. The Spaniard said that the pain was now getting too much. “The injury is nothing new. It is the same injury I am having since 2005. In that moment the doctors were very negative about my future career, but honestly I was able to have a career I was unable to ever dream about, so I am confident I will recover again,” he said in the video.
Nadal said that he was not able to practice last year and prepare in the manner that he wanted to. He said he could not be competitive at the standards that he wants to be at.
The 35-year-old also promised his fans that he would work hard and to get back in shape. He said that he will try to enjoy this sport for some more time.
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Nadal has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, tied with Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Nadal, a former No. 1 player, is currently ranked fourth. He has won two tournaments this year, on clay in Barcelona and Rome.
(With AP inputs)
