Nadal pulls out of Davis Cup tie with season in doubt

Rafael Nadal announced on Monday that he would be unable to represent Spain in the Davis Cup tie against the USA from September 14 to 16 in Gijón. The world number three added that he expected to be out for at least another two months to fully recover from a troublesome knee injury. Nadal last competed at Wimbledon in June and has since missed the Olympic and the American hard court season, culminating in the US Open, where he reached the final last year.

“I really want to get back to competing and enjoying the ATP Tour but I have many years in front of me and my knee needs some rest,” said Nadal. “I will be back when I have no pain and am able to compete without problems.”

The Mallorcan has been dogged by knee injuries throughout his career, including a bout of tendinitis that forced him onto the sidelines in 2009. On this occasion, Nadal’s injury is a partial tear of the patella tendon and inflammation in his left knee. The complaint is often called Jumper’s Knee and flares up because of the immense strain Nadal exerts on his landing leg when serving.

The announcement raises the prospect that Nadal will miss the rest of the season, including the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November for which he has already qualified. “I feel better having met with my doctors and happy knowing that the evolution of the past weeks has been positive and that surgery has been avoided,” the number three said. “I would like to thank everyone for the support I have been receiving.”