Rafael Nadal ‘disappointed’ to withdraw from Laver Cup as retirement rumours continue
Rafael Nadal has announced his withdrawal from next week’s Laver Cup, as speculation surrounding the Spaniard’s future continues.
Nadal has only played seven tournaments this year, with his last coming at the Paris Olympics that ended in a doubles quarter-finals defeat alongside Carlos Alcaraz.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion elected to miss the US Open, but was scheduled to return to action at the Laver Cup in Berlin next week.
It was set to be Nadal’s fourth participation in the event, but the 38-year-old has now confirmed that he will no longer participate in a statement released by the tournament on social media.
“I’m really disappointed to share that I won’t be able to compete at the Laver Cup in Berlin next week,” said Nadal. “This is a team competition and to really support Team Europe, I need to do what’s best for them and at this moment there are other players who can help the team deliver the win.”
The statement continued, “I have so many great, emotional memories from playing Laver Cup and I was really looking forward to being with my teammates and with Bjorn in his final year as Captain. I wish Team Europe the very best of luck and will be cheering them on from afar.”
A replacement player for Team Europe will be announced soon.
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 12, 2024
Nadal will no longer be part of Bjorn Borg’s Team Europe, with Grigor Dimitrov replacing the former World No.1.
The Mallorcan’s next participation on a tennis court is set to be at an exhibition entitled ‘The Six Kings Slam’ in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, taking place next month alongside the aforementioned Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.
Inside the baseline…
This is a strange situation, as in some ways this withdrawal is of no surprise at all, but in other ways it is as many were expecting Rafael Nadal to retire at the Laver Cup like his former rival Roger Federer did two years ago. With Nadal seeming very unlikely to play any tour events for the rest of the year, it is unclear as to where this leaves his career, as he may have already played his last official match – hopefully it will all become clearer in the near future.
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