Rafael Nadal Withdraws From Montreal, Citing Abdominal Injury

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the upcoming U.S. Open warm-up tournament in Montreal, citing a continued abdominal injury that forced him to withdraw ahead of his Wimbledon semifinal with Nick Kyrgios.

The Montreal event runs Aug. 8-14, with the U.S. Open set to begin Aug. 29.

“From the vacation days and my subsequent return to training, everything has gone well these weeks” he Tweeted via Google Translate. “Four days ago I also started training the service and yesterday, after training, I had a little discomfort that was still there today.

“We have decided not to travel to Montréal and continue with the training sessions without forcing ourselves. “I sincerely thank the tournament director, Eugène and his entire team for the understanding and support they have always shown me and today was no exception.

“I hope to play again in Montreal, a tournament that I love and that I have won five times in front of an audience that has always welcomed me with great affection. I have no choice but to be prudent at this point and think about health.”

Nadal joins Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from Montreal on Thursday because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19 and is therefore not allowed to enter Canada.

Djokovic also will not be able to compete in the U.S. Open later this month.

Djokovic, a 21-time Grand Slam champion, has said he won’t get the shots, even if that means he can’t go to certain tournaments. He missed the Australian Open in January after being deported from that country and needed to sit out two events in the United States earlier this year.

He did play in the French Open, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Nadal, and at Wimbledon, which Djokovic won last month for his 21st Grand Slam title — one behind the men’s record held by Nadal.

Last weekend, Djokovic posted on social media that he was holding out hope of getting the chance to play in the U.S. Open, writing: “I am preparing as if I will be allowed to compete, while I await to hear if there is any room for me to travel to US. Fingers

After beating Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final on July 10, Djokovic said he “would love” to participate in the last Grand Slam tournament of the year at Flushing Meadows, but also acknowledged, “I’m not planning to get vaccinated.”

The AP contributed reporting.