Rafael Nadal on Friday pulled out of the Shanghai Masters due to a wrist injury he sustained during the Laver Cup, and said he hoped to be back for next year's tournament.
“I am very sad to announce that I won't be able to play in Shanghai this year. It is the second year in a row and in China I have great fans,” the world number two said in a statement.
“But, as you all probably know, I had an inflammation on my left wrist during the Laver Cup and I haven't had the time to recover and practice to be ready... I hope to be back in Shanghai for the 2020 tournament.”
This would be the second year in a row that the 33-year-old Spaniard, who lifted his 19th grand slam title at this year's US Open, has failed to appear in Shanghai.
The injury had forced Nadal to cut short his stint in last month's Laver Cup, which was lifted by Team Europe. Nadal's withdrawal would also mean that Novak Djokovic has the advantage to seal the year-end number one ranking.
