Tennis star Rafael Nadal has decided to pull out of the remainder of the 2021 season due to his foot injury, which has been troubling him in the recent past. Nadal had earlier withdrawn from Wimbledon and Tokyo Olympics due to his injury in order to be ready for the US Open.
However, the lefty will now miss the US Open as well as the rest of the ATP season. Nadal is obviously disappointed to be ruled out and he wants to make a solid comeback in 2022.
The Spaniard had made a comeback in the Citi Open in Washington but lost to South Africa’s Lloyd Harris in the Round of 16 in three sets.
“I am very sorry to announce that I will not be able to keep playing tennis during the 2021 season. But as you know I have been suffering too much with my foot for the past year,” Nadal said in his Instagram post. “I have missed a lot of important events for me like the US Open now, like Wimbledon, like the Olympics and many other events that are so important and emotional for me.”
After playing in the gruelling semifinal of the French Open against Novak Djokovic, Nadal decided to take a break to give rest to his injury. After losing in Washington, the lefty decided to pull out of National Bank Open and the Cincinnati Open.
“After coming back from Toronto, I took a couple of days to think about it. I needed to talk with my family, with my team and with my doctors especially to understand what is going on. But the foot is not the proper way today,” Nadal said.
“During the past year I was not practising and preparing myself the way that I need to to be competitive at the standards that I want to be, so we had to take that decision. But I am confident that I will recover 100 per cent and I will be able to fight again for the most important things.
“The injury is nothing new. It is the same injury that I have had since 2005. In that moment, the doctors were very negative about my future career, but I was able to have a career that I never dreamed about. So I am confident that I will recover again the foot and if the foot is better, I am confident that my tennis and my mentality will be there again soon.”
Nadal had a 24-5 record in 2021 and won two titles in Rome and Barcelona and both of them came on clay. The Spaniard will aim to make a solid comeback.
