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Rafael Nadal dismisses Dubai wild card rumours, saying: ‘I am not yet ready to play’


Rafael Nadal has moved to dismiss rumours he was set for a shock appearance in Dubai next week.

Nadal is back home in Spain recovering from the back problem that bothered him during the Australian Open, and pulled out of both Rotterdam and Acapulco this month.

On Wednesday night, social media speculation was abound that he had accepted a wild card to play in Dubai. He though, says that whilst one was offered, he had to turn it down.

“I would like to thank the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the wild card invitation sent to me,” Rafael Nadal wrote.

“We seriously thought about coming to play, but I don’t think I am ready to play yet. Once again, thanks to the tournament’s kind invitation and best of luck with the tournament.

“And special thanks to Tournament Director Salah Talak since I am aware of his efforts to ensure a smooth arrival to play Dubai during this unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic and difficult times for all.”


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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.