Montreal Masters 2022: Rafael Nadal withdraws; here's why

Rafael Nadal will be competing in the Montreal Masters 2022. He has been struggling with abdominal issues of late.

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Rafael Nadal of Spain has decided not to compete in the 2022 Montreal Masters, which would have acted as his build-up tournament to the US Open 2022 Grand Slam later this month. Nadal has been struggling with abdominal issues since last month that compelled him to pull out of the 2022 Wimbledon Slam semis against eventual runner-up Nick Kyrgios of Australia. It is the same reason that has pushed him to pull out of Montreal, as he is yet to fully recover from the injury, which is likely to take a bit more time. The Spaniard happens to be a three-time champion at the event.

In a statement to Tennis Canada, Nadal said, "I have been practising for a while now without serving and started with serves four days ago. Everything has been going well. However, yesterday, after my normal practice, I felt a slight bother on my abdominal, and today, it was still there."

"After speaking with my doctor, we prefer to take things conservatively and give a few more days before starting to compete. I want to thank Eugene, the Tournament Director, and all his team for understanding and supporting me and this decision. I am despondent not to finally travel to Montréal. It's a tournament I have won five times, and I love playing there. I seriously hope I can come back to play in front of the amazing crowds up there," said Nadal.

Thus, the Montreal Master will be played without the 'Big Three', as Roger Federer of Switzerland is unlikely to return before Basel Open 2022. Also, reigning Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia will miss out due to his non-vaccinated status, as vaccination is mandatory for all non-citizens to enter the country.