By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Tennis living legend Rafael Nadal won’t be able to suit up in the upcoming US Open Grand Slam tournament after announcing the update on his official social media account on August 8, 2024.
Fresh off a Paris Olympics appearance for the Spanish national team, Nadal confirmed that he will not travel to Queens, New York with his camp and will officially miss the final Grand Slam event of the year.
For the 38-year-old superstar, joining the US Open means everything to him, but a series of undisclosed injuries prevented him from filling a main draw slot.
This is already Nadal’s fourth absence in the US Open for the past five years and will miss out on the chance of playing for the final time in New York after the 22-time Grand Slam champion earlier said that this year might be his last.
“Hi all, writing today to let you guys know that I have decided not to compete at this year’s US Open a place where I have amazing memories,” posted Nadal.
This year’s US Open will kick off on August 26, 2024, starting with the qualifiers while the main event will start a few days after the preliminaries.
The crowd in Queens will surely miss Nadal after winning four of his 22 Grand Slams on the US Open hard court.
Nadal became a crowd favorite when he won his first US Open championship title in 2010 and followed it up with three more (2013, 2017, 2019).
During his 2019 grand finals match, Nadal not only certified his status as a US Open legend but also gained the respect of the world when he came back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Daniil Medvedev.
Unfortunately, that golden year for Nadal was the last time that he raised a championship trophy in New York after a major injury in his hip started to derail his playing calendar.
“I will miss those electric and special night sessions in NYC at Ashe, but I don’t think I would be able to give my 100% this time. Thanks to all my US Fans in particular, will miss you all and will see you another time,” added Nadal.
