Rafael Nadal will not be contesting this year’s US Open in New York. The Spaniard, who also missed the London Olympics, officially announced his withdrawal through social media.
"I am very sad to announce that I am still not ready to play and have to withdraw from this year’s US Open in NYC. I am sorry since I always found great crowds and great support, but I have to continue with my recuperation and preparation to be ready to play in the right conditions. I want to say hi and thanks to all the fans in particular to the New Yorkers. I’ll miss you all this year!" Nadal posted on his Facebook account.
Nadal is really struggling to shake off the problems he has with his knees, with tendinitis once again ruling him out of a major tournament. Rafa hasn’t played since his second-round defeat at Wimbledon, having pulled out of the exhibition match against Djokovic at the Bernabéu, the Olympic Games in London (where he was set to be Spain’s flag-bearer), the Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati and now the US Open.
Having been deprived of the chance to defend the points he earned by reaching last year’s final at Flushing Meadows, where he lost to Novak Djokovic, Nadal is now at risk of losing his world no. 3 ranking to Andy Murray, the Olympic gold medallist and Wimbledon runner-up.