Injured Rafael Nadal Pulls Out Of Toronto Masters
Men’s tennis World number four Rafael Nadal said he had pulled out from the Masters 1000 hardcourt event underway in Toronto due to persistent pain in his injured left foot.
The injury kept the 20-time Grand Slam champion out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics this year and played a role in his shock third-round exit at the Washington Open last week.
“I have had this issue for a couple of months, as people know,” said Nadal, a five-time winner of the event which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Of course, it is not a happy situation after all the success that I had here in Canada, not being able to play this year after missing a year,” Nadal said.
Nadal said the decision was a tough one but added that the most important thing was getting better so he could go back to appreciating his time on the court.
“Today, with this pain, I am not able to enjoy it, and I really don’t believe that I have the chance to fight for the things that I really need to fight for,” Nadal added.
Nadal will now turn his attention to getting fit ahead of the US Open tournament in New York.
“I really wanted to play here a lot, but now is the moment to make a decision, and this is unfortunately the decision that I have taken, and probably in the next couple of days we are going to know more,” Nadal concluded.
Second seed Nadal will be replaced by fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the main draw.
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters.
