Former World No 1 Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the ATP 1000 Masters in Toronto, Canada due to a foot injury. It makes him another high-profile player to be withdrawing from the ongoing events in Canada and the Cincinnati Masters next week.
Nadal got back to the tour at the Citi Open in Washington DC after skipping Wimbledon and the Olympics. However, the top seed suffered an unexpected loss to South African player Lloyd Harris in three sets.
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Thereon, the two-time champion in Canada pulled-out ahead of his second round match citing a foot injury.
“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,” Nadal was quoted in a statement by the tournament.
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In a separate video uploaded on Twitter by the ATP, the 20-time Grand Slam champion added that his “foot is not ready for it. I feel bad, I was still here, I tried hard.”
Hear from @RafaelNadal on his left foot injury 👇
(via @NBOtoronto)pic.twitter.com/4DoG6CkDqI
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 10, 2021
The 35-year-old’s withdrawal from the Masters event adds to the growing list of absentees at the ATP and WTA 1000 series in Canada (WTA in Montreal and ATP in Toronto) and Cincinnati next week.
Missing names
In Toronto, World No 1 Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem were among the first high-profile names to withdraw. Nadal is the latest on the list.
Meanwhile in Montreal, where the WTA 1000 event is taking place, Serena and Venus Williams are missing, as is World No 1 Ashleigh Barty, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka.
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As it stands, Barty, Swiatek and Osaka are still entered at the Cincinnati Masters next week. The Williams sisters however have withdrawn.
“I am still in recovery from my leg injury at Wimbledon,” Serena said in a statement.
She had slipped on Centre Court after the first few games of her opening round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
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“I will miss all of my fans in Cincinnati whom I look forward to seeing every summer. I plan to be back on the court very soon.”
Another American player, Sofia Kenin too is in rehab and has decided to skip the Cincinnati event in order to recover in time for the US Open.
In the men’s draw, it’s unclear if Nadal will compete, but Djokovic, Federer, Thiem and Stan Wawrinka have withdrawn.
