Rafael Nadal withdraws from the Montreal tournament

Still annoyed by his abdominal muscle injury, Spaniard Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from the National Bank Open on Friday morning. 

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“I had been training without serving for some time and started serving again about four days ago. Everything went well, but yesterday, after normal practice, I felt a slight discomfort in the abdominal area and today it was still there,” Rafael Nadal said in a statement.

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Desde los días de vacaciones y mi posterior reincorporación a los entrenamientos todo ha ido bien estas semanas. Hace cuatro días que empecé también a entrenar el servicio y ayer, tras el entrenamiento, tuve una pequeña molestia que hoy seguía ahí.

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) August 5, 2022

“After speaking with my doctor, we prefer to be conservative and give my body a few more days before returning to competition. I would like to thank Eugène, the tournament director, and his entire team for their understanding and for supporting me in this decision. I am very sad not to be able to come to Montreal. It's a tournament I've won five times and I love playing it. I sincerely hope I can return to the tournament to play in front of the crowd, which is always amazing.”

Hemos decided no viajar a Montreal y proseguir con los entrenamientos sin forzar. Agradezco de corazón al director del torneo, Eugène y all su equipo por la compresión y apoyo que siempre me han mostrado y hoy no ha sido una exception.

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) August 5, 2022

More details to come…