“It is really sad to share the decision that I will not be able to play the Laver Cup in Berlin next week,” said the 22-time grand slam winner in a press release.
Nadal missed essentially the entire tennis year of 2023 due to hip problems and many have pegged this season as likely his last. Of this year’s four grand slam tournaments, the 38-year-old Spaniard has only been able to participate in one, and there, in the French Championships, he was eliminated in the first round.
In the past, the Laver Cup has been painted as a possible last tournament for Nadal. It was there that Swiss Roger Federer – who along with Nadal and Novak Djokovic dominated men’s tennis for two decades – played his last match two years ago.
“Really looking forward to it”
Rafael Nadal had also been looking forward to arranging a fine send-off for another of the sport’s greats, Björn Borg, who is in his final year as captain of the European Laver Cup team.
“I have so many emotional memories from the Laver Cup and I was really looking forward to meeting my teammates and Björn in his last year as captain,” said Nadal.
The European team currently consists of Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev. A replacement for Nadal will be announced shortly.
Rafael Nadal’s next tennis task now looks to be the exhibition tournament “Six Kings Slam” in Saudi Arabia in October.