Rafael Nadal, a 36-year-old Spanish tennis player, is considered one of the finest on the court today. He has won a record 22 Grand Slam tournaments in his career, with his most recent triumph coming at the French Open this year in June.
However, Spain’s Raging Bull has been going through a perilous injury which is causing a problem in his abdominal muscles, forcing him out of an upcoming ATP tour in Canada.
Why is Rafael Nadal unable to play in Montreal?
Rafael Nadal made his withdrawal from the National Bank Open, which will be contested in Montreal, Canada the following week, according to his official statement on Friday.
The world No. 3 missed his semifinal match against Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon last month due to an abdominal ailment, and he hasn’t played since that withdrawal.
The Spaniard said that he still had “a little pain” throughout this week’s training sessions, but did not specifically cite this issue as the reason for pulling out of the U.S. Open tune-up.
In addition, Nadal and his management thought it would be better for him to skip the Montreal event due to the impending final major competition.
Nadal also didn’t say if he planned to participate in the U.S. Open or not. The Australian Open and French Open victories by the 22-time Grand Slam victor helped him tie with Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam championships in men’s tennis history.
Some other speculations are mentioning that Rafael Nadal might retire, but the tennis player denied it by saying, “I hope to play again in Montréal, a tournament that I love and that I have won five times in front of an audience that has always welcomed me with great affection.”
Like Nadal, Novak Djokovic also withdrew from the National Bank Open on Thursday without giving an explanation, but it is probable that it is because he lacks the COVID-19 vaccination, which Canada presently requires international visitors to have had at least two doses of.
