Rafael Nadal’s left foot, which has bothered him for years, forced him to pull out of the U.S. Open on Friday and he said he will not play again this season.
His withdrawal follows that of Roger Federer (knee) and defending champion Dominic Thiem (wrist), both of whom are sitting out the rest of 2021.
Nadal sat out Wimbledon and the Olympics because of fatigue after losing to Novak Djokovic in the French Open semifinals. He withdrew from the ATP event in Toronto last week because of the problem.
Djokovic is the only remaining member of the Big Three in the Open, but he withdrew from the Cincinnati tournament this week citing fatigue. Djokovic has won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon this year and the withdrawals of Federer, Thiem and now Nadal improves his chances of becoming the first man to complete a calendar year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.
“During the last year I was not able to practice and prepare the way I need to be competitive at the standards I want to be,” Nadal said on a social media post. “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.”
Nadal, 35, is a four-time champion of the Open and is tied with Federer and Djokovic with 20 Grand Slam titles, the most all time among men
It still remains to be seen whether Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, will play the Open. After retiring from her opening match at Wimbledon she has not played again, withdrawing from Cincinnati this week. In doing so she announced on social media: “I plan to be back on the court very soon.”
