Rafael Nadal pulled out of the US Open on Wednesday, making it the third Grand Slam match he’s missed this season and elevating extra questions on his future in tennis at age 38.
Nadal’s announcement on social media was not a lot of a shock. Sure, he was on the official entry checklist launched final month for New York, however that was extra of a formality than something and didn’t preclude the 22-time main champion from withdrawing at any level earlier than competitors begins Aug. 26.
Plus, Nadal telegraphed this information per week in the past after his participation within the 2024 Olympics for Spain ended with a quarterfinal loss in doubles alongside Carlos Alcaraz. That adopted a second-round loss in singles to rival Novak Djokovic, who left Paris with the lads’s gold medal.
When he was requested then about taking part in on the U.S. Open, Nadal paused for some time earlier than responding.
“Seems like not. However I’m going to let you recognize quickly,” he stated. “For me, now, I can’t offer you a transparent reply. I would like a while, however for me, (it) seems to be troublesome.” Nadal has not introduced something a few attainable retirement, however given his age and a current historical past of accidents — together with hip surgical procedure in 2023 and stomach muscle points in 2024 that restricted his variety of matches the previous two seasons — it appears secure to say he most likely doesn’t have a lot left in him.
He’s a four-time champion on the U.S. Open, taking the titles in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019. However the absence this time means he may have sat out the hard-court match in 4 of the previous 5 years; the exception was 2022, when he misplaced within the fourth spherical to Frances Tiafoe.
In 2023, Nadal harm his hip throughout the Australian Open in January and was compelled to skip the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. This 12 months, he harm a muscle close to the hip throughout a tuneup occasion earlier than the Australian Open, so he sat that out. He then performed on the French Open in Might, however misplaced within the first spherical to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev. Nadal opted to skip Wimbledon final month so he wouldn’t need to handle the transition from the clay at Roland Garros to the grass on the All England Membership, earlier than returning to clay for the Olympics.
Nadal owns a file 14 titles from the French Open, and two apiece from Wimbledon and the Australian Open. His most up-to-date two Slam trophies arrived in 2022, at Melbourne in January and at Paris in June, pushing him forward of Roger Federer for the then-record of 20 Grand Slam titles for a person.
Federer introduced his retirement when he was 41 on the finish of the 2022 season, shortly earlier than bidding adieu by teaming with Nadal in a doubles match on the Laver Cup. Each have since been surpassed within the Grand Slam depend by Djokovic, who reached 24 by profitable final 12 months’s U.S. Open.
The draw to set the brackets for the 2024 U.S. Open is scheduled for Aug. 22.