Rafael Nadal’s ailing back has forced the Spanish superstar to withdraw from next week’s ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Nadal, 34, was unable to compete at the ATP Cup earlier this month due to a back injury. The 20-time Grand Slam champion was able to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before falling in five sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament announced Nadal’s decision over social media on Thursday and noted that Russian Daniil Medvedev, who is ranked third in the ATP rankings, will be the top seed in the tournament. Nadal was ranked second.
Unfortunately, Rafael Nadal is forced to pull out of the 48th ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. The back problems that started in Australia prevent him from playing next week. Daniil Medvedev, number 3 in the ATP Rankings, is now the top seed in the tournament. pic.twitter.com/XPXaX0ZZQG
— ABN AMRO WTT (@abnamrowtt) February 25, 2021
Nadal addressed the issue over social media as well.
“It is with great sadness that I have to forfeit from Rotterdam,” Nadal wrote on Twitter. “As most of the fans know, I suffered some back problems in Australia that started in Adelaide and continued during Melbourne. We found a temporary solution that allowed me to play without pain in the second week of the tournament.
“Once I got back to Spain I visited my doctor and together with my team they’ve advised not to play this upcoming week. I was really looking forward to coming back to Rotterdam and The Netherlands since it’s been a while I played there.”
–Field Level Media