Skip to footer

Rafael Nadal withdraws from US Open

The owner of 11 Grand Slam titles is dealing with an injury and will not compete in the US championships, scheduled to start later this month.

|
Anja Niedringhaus/AP/File
This June 26 file photo shows Rafael Nadal of Spain returning a shot against Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil during a first round men's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England.
  • By Howard Fendrich Associated Press

Rafael Nadal withdrew from the U.S. Open on Wednesday, sidelined by an leg injury that has kept him out of action since his stunning loss at Wimbledon in late June.

The third-ranked Spaniard reached the final at Flushing Meadows each of the past two years, winning the title in 2010 to complete a career Grand Slam, then losing to champion Novak Djokovic in 2011.

"I am very sad to announce that I am not ready to play the US Open in NY. Thanks to my fans for their support and specially, the new yorkers," Nadal wrote on his Twitter account.

He hasn't played a match since June 28, when he was upset in the second round at the All England Club by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol. Shortly after that defeat, Nadal canceled a scheduled charity match against Djokovic in Spain, citing a left knee injury. Nadal has had recurring knee problems in the past.

The 26-year-old Nadal also pulled out of the London Olympics — he won the gold medal at Beijing in 2008, and was supposed to carry Spain's flag in the opening ceremony this time. He also opted not to play in a hard-court tuneup tournament in Cincinnati.

"Rafa has informed us that he will not be ready to compete at the U.S. Open this year and has withdrawn from the tournament," tournament director David Brewer said in a statement issued Wednesday. "We hope to see him back on the court soon and look forward to his return to New York next year."

Play in the two-week tournament begins at Flushing Meadows on Aug. 27.

Nadal's absence immediately leaves a trio of heavy favorites at the last Grand Slam event of the year: defending champion Djokovic; five-time U.S. Open winner and currently top-ranked Roger Federer; and 2008 U.S. Open runner-up Andy Murray, who won the gold medal in singles at the London Games by beating Federer in the final.

Nadal's withdrawal also raises questions about his future. He owns 11 Grand Slam titles, including seven on the red clay of the French Open, but his hard-charging, hard-hitting style of play takes a toll on his body, particularly his knees.

In 2009, he missed Wimbledon because of aching knees, becoming only the second men's champion in 35 years to decline to defend his title at the All England Club.

Federer, in contrast, has played in every Grand Slam tournament since the start of 2000, a streak of 51 in a row.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Rafael Nadal withdraws from US Open
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0815/Rafael-Nadal-withdraws-from-US-Open
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe