Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week's U.S. Open tune-up event in Montreal, Canada due to the same abdominal strain which forced him to miss his Wimbledon semi-final last month, he said on Friday.
World number three Nadal's quest for a calendar Grand Slam ended after he pulled out of his highly anticipated showdown against Australia's Nick Kyrgios less than 24 hours before the match.
The 26-year-old Nadal, who has won 22 major titles, is a five-time champion at the ATP 1000 event in Montreal, which begins on Monday.
"I have been practicing 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," Nadal said in a statement.
"After speaking with my doctor we prefer to take things in a conservative way and give a few more days before starting to compete.
"I am very sad not to finally travel to Montreal and to play a tournament that I have won five times and I love to play. I seriously hope I can come back there to play in front of the amazing crowds up there."
{{/usCountry}}"I am very sad not to finally travel to Montreal and to play a tournament that I have won five times and I love to play. I seriously hope I can come back there to play in front of the amazing crowds up there."
{{/usCountry}}Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic also withdrew from the event on Thursday as he cannot enter the country without being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while Britain's Andy Murray was handed one of four wildcards.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.