Ailing Nadal done for season

Rafael Nadal announced Friday he was withdrawing from this year’s U.S. Open and would miss the rest of the 2021 season because of the chronic left-foot condition that has troubled him intermittently since his teens.

“I have been suffering too much with my foot for the last year now,” Nadal said in a video posted on social media.

Nadal, 35, a four-time U.S. Open champion, most recently won the singles title in New York in 2019. He defeated Daniil Medvedev in a five-set classic and then unusually broke down in tears courtside in his chair as he watched a commemorative video honouring his career.

But Nadal chose not to defend his title last year when the U.S. Open was played without spectators and with significant health restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This year, after losing in the semifinals of the French Open to Novak Djokovic, Nadal did not play at Wimbledon or the Olympics as he tried to resolve his foot problem. He returned to action in Washington this month, but his movement was clearly still affected by the injury as he defeated Jack Sock in his opening match and then lost to Lloyd Harris in the next round.

Nadal’s withdrawal means that, for the second straight year, he and Roger Federer will miss the U.S. Open. Federer, 40, announced last week he would miss the rest of the 2021 season and would need a fourth knee surgery.

Longtime rivals Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have each won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, sharing the men’s record. But Djokovic will chase his 21st alone in New York if he can recover from the shoulder injury that caused him to withdraw from the bronze-medal mixed doubles match at the Olympics.

Djokovic will also be trying to complete the first Grand Slam in men’s singles since Rod Laver in 1969. Djokovic has won the first three legs this year: the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.