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After being forced to withdraw from the ongoing Canadian Open due to an abdominal injury, Rafael Nadal announced on Wednesday that he will compete at the Cincinnati Open the following week.
The same issue that has restricted his serve motion and forced him to forfeit his Wimbledon semifinal last month prevented the third-ranked player in the world from competing in the U.S. Open tune-up match in Montreal.
“Flying tomorrow to Cincinnati,” the Spaniard posted alongside a photo of himself shirtless and smiling.
“Very happy to play again in Cincy.”
The hardcourt tournament’s lineup will only feature Nadal, who has a men’s record 22 major championship victories, since Big Three rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will also be missing.
While Wimbledon winner Djokovic is unable to participate in the North American tournaments owing to his injury refusal to take vaccine, Federer is currently recovering from knee surgery.
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