Injured Nadal pulls out of US Open

Rafael Nadal withdrew from the US Open on Wednesday, less than a month after pulling out of the Olympics because of a knee injury.

Nadal has not played since a stunning second-round loss to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon. His knee problems have been recurring during his career, aggravated by his relentless playing style and the long professional season that Nadal has been vocal about wanting to shorten.

The news is a blow to this year’s tournament, which has lost some luster because of the Olympics’ effect on an overpacked schedule certain to leave many of the top players injured or just exhausted.

“Rafa has informed us that he will not be ready to compete at the US Open this year and has withdrawn from the tournament,” the tournament director, David Brewer, said in a statement. “We hope to see him back on the court soon and look forward to his return to New York next year.”

Nadal, 26, broke through for his first US Open championship in 2010. It was the final major that Nadal had not yet won, completing a career Grand Slam that also included a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. He returned to the No 1 ranking after an injury-plagued 2009 in which he missed Wimbledon with tendinitis in both knees.

“I am very sad to announce that I am not ready to play the US Open in NY,” Nadal, now ranked No 3, wrote on his Twitter page. “Thanks to my fans for their support and specially, the New Yorkers.”

Last year, Nadal lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.
This season, Nadal met Djokovic again in the Australian Open final, playing a nearly six-hour match before losing. He then beat Djokovic to win his seventh French Open in June. His surprise exit to Rosol, ranked 100th, was the first time Nadal did not get out of the second round at Wimbledon since 2005 and signaled his knees might be ailing again.