It has been a torrid start of the year for World No.2 Rafael Nadal as he bowed out of the Australian Open quarterfinals when he lost against Stefanos Tsitsipas after leading by two sets. He suffered a back injury ahead of the Australian Open and it has been bothering him throughout the tournament.

With his back injury troubling him, Nadal has decided to withdraw himself from the ATP event in Rotterdam which is scheduled to start next week. Nadal’s entry was hyped a lot by the tennis faithful and now with him not featuring it will leave the fans high and dry.

The injury is in his lower back which has been causing trouble since the Australian Open and it is also revealed that Nadal was on regular medication and also opted for some temporary solutions to see off the pain while he can concentrate on his tennis. He managed this till the quarterfinals but now the situation is worse and therefore he needs proper care and therefore withdrawing from the Rotterdam Open was a logical decision.

“It is with great sadness that I have to forfeit from Rotterdam. As most of the fans know, I suffered some back problems in Australia that started in Adelaide and continued during Melbourne. We found a temporary solution that allowed me to play without pain in the second week of the tournament.

“Once I got back to Spain, I visited my doctor and together with my team they’ve advised not to play this upcoming week,” Nadal said.

It is a huge blow for tennis fans especially the ones from the Netherlands who were desperately waiting for the 20-time Grand Slam winner to return to Rotterdam after 12 long years. The last time he was in action at the Rotterdam Open was way back in 2009 when he ended up as the finalist as he was beaten by a young Andy Murray in the finals.

Therefore the Spaniard has shown eagerness to play in Rotterdam this year and considering the packed ATP scheduled the event fitted perfectly. However, fate had other ideas and now though it is unclear when the World No.2 will return to action, he would not like to miss the Miami Open as it is the start of the ATP 1000 Masters tournaments.

“I was really looking forward to coming back to Rotterdam and The Netherlands since it’s been a while I played there, and this was the perfect year for my calendar. I hope to come back and play there soon,” the 34-year old concluded.