TORONTO – Defending champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s Rogers Cup in Toronto because of injury.
Nadal he’ll be unable to defend the title he won last year in Montreal because of a right wrist injury. Nadal plays left-handed, but he uses a two-handed backhand.
“Coming to Toronto is always one of the highlights of my season so I’m very disappointed that I can’t play there this year,” Nadal said in a statement released by Tennis Canada, “I was planning on coming to Toronto and did everything I could to be ready but I still need some more time to recover.”
Nadal, ranked No. 2 in the world, is also missing the Cincinnati event, putting his status in doubt for a title defence at the U.S. Open.
The Toronto tournament begins Monday; the Cincinnati tournament starts Aug. 11. Those two events would have represented Nadal’s hard-court preparation for the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 25.
Nadal won his second championship at Flushing Meadows in 2013. That is part of his collection of 14 Grand Slam titles, tied with Pete Sampras for second in the history of men’s tennis, trailing only Roger Federer’s record of 17.
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