It is official. World number three Rafael Nadal won’t be competing at the 2012 US Open due to his lingering knee injury. Nadal, who has won a total of 11 Grand Slam titles including his lone US Open victory in 2010, has not played since his stunning second round exit at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. The Mallorcan broke this heartbreaking news to his millions of fans on his official Facebook account and Twitter.
“I am very sad to announce that I am still not ready to play and have to withdraw from this year’s US Open in NYC,” Nadal started on his status message to his Facebook fans.
“I am sorry since I always found great crowds and great support, but I have to continue with my recuperation and preparation to be ready to play in the right conditions. I want to say hi and thanks to all the fans in particular to the New Yorkers. I’ll miss you all this year at the Open!” he continued.
David Brewer, the US Open Tournament Director, said that Nadal has already informed them of his withdrawal from the last Grand Slam event of the season.
“Rafa has informed us that he will not be ready to compete at the US Open this year and has withdrawn from the tournament. We hope to see him back on the court soon and look forward to his return to New York next year,” Brewer said.
It was at the 2010 US Open that Nadal completed a career Golden Slam when he defeated Novak Djokovic for the title. Nadal won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was unable to defend this title in London due to the aforementioned injury.
