Rafael Nadal is pulling out of the upcoming National Bank Open in Montreal as he continues to deal with an abdominal injury. Nadal said in a statement via Tennis Canada (h/t ATP Tour): “I’ve been practicing for a while now without serving and I started serving four days ago. Everything has gone well. However yesterday after my normal workout I felt a little discomfort in my stomach and today it was still there. “After speaking with my doctor, we prefer to take things conservatively and give a few more days before we start competing. I would like to thank Eugene, the Tournament Director, and his entire team for understanding and supporting me and this decision. “I am very sad that I am finally not traveling to Montreal. It’s a tournament I’ve won 5 times and I love playing there. I seriously hope I can get back there to play in front of the amazing crowd up there.” Spanish newspaper Brand (H/t ESPN’s Simon Cambers) reported in July during Wimbledon that Nadal had a 7mm tear in one of his abdominal muscles. The world No. 3 reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals, where he defeated Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4). However, he was unable to compete in a scheduled semi-final clash with Australia’s Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal injury. Nadal has not played since his Wimbledon semi-final exit. The Spaniard has claimed five titles in Canada. He has won three events in Montreal and two in Toronto during his storied career, with his last win in the country coming at the 2019 Canadian Open. Despite suffering an abdominal injury and missing all of April with a rib fracture suffered in a match against compatriot Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells in March, Nadal is still enjoying an impressive 2022 campaign. The 36-year-old is 35-3 and won the Australian Open in Melbourne and the French Open at Roland Garros to take sole possession of the most Grand Slam titles in men’s history with 22. Apart from Nadal, Novak Djokovic also withdrew from the National Bank Open. He remains unvaccinated against COVID-19 and is not eligible to enter Canada without being fully vaccinated. Alcaraz, Kyrgios, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No.1 Daniil Medvedev will be the players to watch in Montreal with Nadal and Djokovic out of the tournament. The next major event on the tennis circuit comes later this month at the US Open. Nadal’s status for the tournament, which he last won in 2019, remains unclear.
