Rafael Nadal will miss the US Open for the rest of the 2021 season due to severe foot pain

With the 2021 US Open fast approaching, professional tennis has hit a string of retreats with notable competitors and some of the sport’s biggest stars. This unfortunate trend continued on Friday, as Rafael Nadal will not be at the U.S. Open and in all remaining tournaments in 2021.

On Friday, Nadal announced that he will not be competing in the US Open and will miss the rest of the 2021 season due to a chronic shoe injury. Nadal has struggled with a painful injury since 2005 with great success, but the injury has severely hampered the 35-year-old Spaniard in the last year.

“The injury is not new. It’s an injury I’ve been having since 2005,” Nadal said In a report by the Associated Press. “At the time the doctors were very negative about my future career. But I actually had a career I could never dream of, so I’m sure I’ll be healed again.”

Nadal is just one of the last notable players to retire from the U.S. Open and is currently the second of three players to hold a men’s record in individual Grand Slam titles. Roger Federer retired last week from a U.S. injury injury to his knee, while current champion Dominic Thiem suffered a wrist injury earlier this year.

The unhappiness of Nadal and Federer is good news for Novak Djokovic, who is now only trying to break the Grand Slam record. Entering the final round of the Grand Slam of the year, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic were tied for 20 Grand Slam titles. If Djokovic were to win in New York, after winning the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year, he would be the sole owner of the record and become the first male player to win the annual Grand Slam calendar during the Open Era.

Nadal’s 2021 season is over as he has won two championships, one in Barcelona and one in Rome.