Tennis news - Rafael Nadal pulls out of Rotterdam Open with back issue picked up in Australian Open

The 20-time Grand Slam winner has been struggling with a back issue since the build-up to the Australian Open and was forced to skip Spain's ATP Cup ties earlier this month. Despite the injury, Nadal did not drop a single set at the Australian Open until the quarter-final stage, where he was knocked out by Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas last week.

World number two Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week's Rotterdam Open due to a back injury, organisers of the ATP 500 event said on Thursday.

"It is with great sadness that I have to forfeit from Rotterdam," Nadal said in a statement.

"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.

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"Once I got back to Spain I visited my doctor and together with my team they’ve advised not to play this upcoming week."

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"Unfortunately, Rafael Nadal is forced to pull out of the 48th ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament," the tournament organisers said in a statement.

"The back problems that started in Australia prevent him from playing next week."

World number three Daniil Medvedev will replace Nadal as the top seed in the Rotterdam event, which will run from March 1-7.

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22/04/2024 at 11:22