Rafael Nadal withdraws from Laver Cup due to ‘personal reasons’
Rafael Nadal announced on Friday that he will withdraw from the $1.6 million Laver Cup, to play in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on August 27.
Nadal, who was scheduled to play in the event this year but had to withdraw due to injury, confirmed his withdrawal in a post on Facebook.
“Unfortunately, I was forced to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells due to personal reasons,” he wrote. “As I told my team the day after the final, I will be working with the Spanish club in the next four months to return to the ATP tour.”
The Spaniard, who won the Barcelona Open and Australian Open, has reached the quarterfinals at eight consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, with his best result being a semifinal at the 2015 Australian Open.
Nadal ended his 2016 season ranked No. 19, and last week announced that he would sit out the rest of the year.
“2016 was a great year for me,” he said at the time. “I had an excellent clay season and I also had the Australian Open and the Spanish Open. I finished on a very high horse, and now I have to start again, with a new attitude, a new motivation and a new perspective.”
Nadal also said the decision to sit out this year has nothing to do with the loss of endorsement deals with companies such as Pepsi, as he claimed he had never heard the names of the companies.
“I don’t know why I’m going, I don’t know, but I’m going,” he said. “The truth is that they haven’t made an offer for me to sponsor them. As far as I know, that’s all I know. “
In December, Novak Djokovic announced that he will also miss the year as he undergoes treatment