Rafael Nadal, an aging tennis superstar, said Thursday that he will withdraw from the 2024 Laver Cup.
The announcement comes after the 38-year-old withdrew from the US Open due to issues with a surgically repaired hip. Nadal stated that he feels there are “other players who can help the team deliver the win.”
The Spaniard, who is now outside the top 150 in the world, told Eurosport that injuries were not the reason for his choice. He simply doesn’t believe he’s “in a position to win anything.”
Team Europe has declared that it would replace Nadal with Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, the world’s No. 10 player. Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, and Frances Tiafoe are scheduled to compete in the tournament, which runs September 20-22. Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, the 2024 US Open champion, are not competing.
This year would have been Nadal’s fourth Laver Cup, tennis’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup, in which six men’s tennis players from Team Europe compete against Team World. The seventh edition of the Laver Cup will take place in Berlin. It was founded in 2017, in part by Roger Federer’s management organization, Team8 Sports & Entertainment.
Patrick McEnroe, Team USA’s vice captain, talked with Front Office Sports after Nadal’s statement, saying that while it was “disappointing” for fans, he understood the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s decision.
“Knowing where he’s at and knowing what he’s been struggling with, I think it was the right move,” the actor stated.
He pointed out that the Laver Cup is played on hard courts, which have previously challenged Nadal’s body.
“Indoor hard court is always the surface that he struggled the most on, not just from a game standpoint, but also with his body with the stopping and starting,” McEnroe told ESPN.
McEnroe stated that he hopes to see Nadal return to action later this year or in 2025 for one more run.
“Tennis certainly misses him,” McEnroe explained. “He’s one of tennis’ all-time greats, and he’s highly popular with both his and our teams. “We adore Rafael Nadal.”