Rafa Nadal will not play the ATP 500 in Rotterdam next week. The Spaniard communicated on his social networks that Lower back discomfort from the recent Australian Open, in which he fell in the quarterfinals against Stefanos Tsitisipas, has not subsided enough.
Unfortunately, Rafael Nadal is forced to pull out of the 48th ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. The back problems that started in Australia prevent him from playing next week. Daniil Medvedev, number 3 in the ATP Rankings, is now the top seed in the tournament. pic.twitter.com/XPXaX0ZZQG
– ABN AMRO WTT (@abnamrowtt) February 25, 2021
“They are problems that he dragged from my stay in Adelaide (where he was quarantined) and then continued in Melbourne. Luckily, we found a temporary solution that allowed me to compete without pain until the second week of competition. Once I returned to Spain, I visited my trusted doctor and together with the rest of the team we reached an agreement that it was best not to play this week, “Nadal announced.
In Melbourne, and before playing the round of 16 against Fabio Fognini, the Spaniard underwent an infiltration (facet block, in medical terminology) between the vertebrae in your lower back that worked. A puncture performed under local anesthesia and radiological control in the affected area, in which anesthetic and anti-inflammatory are injected. But it has not solved the problem.
Nadal could lose world number two as Daniil Medvedev, who rose to three with the final in Australia, is targeted for the tournament. They are separated by 115 points. The Russian would have to reach the final to snatch it from him.
On the champion's calendar 20 Grand Slam figures Miami Masters 1,000, which he won in 2020, as the next stop since March 24. This year he will not be in Acapulco previously, where he had to defend the title and 500 points.