"It's really sad to announce the decision that I won't be able to play the Laver Cup in Berlin next week", says the 22-time Grand Slam winner in a press release.
Nadal missed almost the entire tennis year 2023 due to hip problems and many have pointed out this season as his likely last. Out of this year's four Grand Slam tournaments, the 38-year-old Spaniard has only been able to participate in one, and there, in the French Championships, he was knocked out in the first round.
Earlier, the Laver Cup has been painted as a possible last tournament for Nadal. It was there that the Swiss Roger Federer – who, together with Nadal and Novak Djokovic, has dominated men's tennis for two decades – played his last match two years ago.
Rafael Nadal had also looked forward to arranging a fine farewell for another of the sport's greats, Björn Borg, who is doing his last year as captain of the European Laver Cup team.
"I have so many emotional memories from the Laver Cup and I really looked forward to meeting my teammates and Björn during his last year as captain", says Nadal.
The European team currently consists of Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev. A replacement for Nadal will be announced shortly.
Rafael Nadal's next tennis task now appears to be the exhibition tournament "Six Kings Slam" in Saudi Arabia in October.
