Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s U.S. Open with a wrist injury. The defending champ has not played since a 4th-round exit at Wimbledon last month. Nadal issued this statement on his Facebook page.
I am very sorry to announce I won’t be able to play at this year’s US Open a tournament on which I’ve played 3 consecutive finals in my last participations. I am sure you understand that it is a very tough moment for me since it is a tournament I love and where I have great memories from fans, the night matches, so many things… Not much more I can do right now, other than accept the situation and, as always in my case, work hard in order to be able to compete at the highest level once I am back.
Nadal started off the year strong winning the Qatar Open and reaching the finals of the Australian Open. He followed that up with a ho-hum title at Roland Garros, the 9th of his career. But things have been bad since. A shocking exit at Wimbledon coupled with a wrist injury saw Nadal lose his #1 ranking.
This is probably just a minor setback for Nadal but you have to wonder if his days as a hard court player are reaching an end. You have to wonder if he starts planning his entire season around the French Open, a tournament he can probably win for the next 2-3 years.