Rafael Nadal withdraws from Brisbane tournament
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal announced on Thursday his withdrawal from the Brisbane tournament in Australia, where the world number one was scheduled to start the season.
"My intention was to play that tournament," he explained in his Twitter profile, "but I am not ready yet."
"I am sorry to announce I won't be coming to Brisbane this year. My intention was to play but I am still not ready after last year's long season and the late start of my preparation. I had a great time there and it was a great start to the month I spent in Australia." - Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal)
The Mallorcan player indicated that this withdrawal is due to his "late" start of preparation after the efforts made in 2017, a year in which he regained the top spot in the world rankings and won Roland Garros and the US Open, as well as the tournaments in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Beijing.
Rafael Nadal's plans, who already withdrew from the Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament, involve traveling to Melbourne on January 4th "and start preparing the Australian Open there."
The first Grand Slam of the year will take place between January 15th and 28th. That will mark his debut in 2018.
Nadal has not competed since last November. The Spanish player withdrew from the ATP Finals, held in London, after losing (7-6, 6-7, 6-4) to Belgian David Goffin in his first group stage match due to a knee injury.