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The 38-year-old Spaniard, a 22-time major
champion, is coming off of playing singles and doubles at the
Paris Olympics and failing to add to his two career gold medals.
Nadal said he has "amazing memories" of the U.S. Open, where
play begins Aug. 26. He captured singles titles in 2010, 2013,
2017 and 2019.
"I will miss those electric and special night sessions in NYC at
Ashe (Arthur Ashe Stadium), but I don't think I would be able to
give my 100% this time," he wrote. "Thanks to all my US Fans in
particular, will miss you all and will see you another time."
While retirement talk has surrounded Nadal -- he will miss his
third Grand Slam tournament this year -- he wrote that he will
compete at the Laver Cup on Sept. 20-22 in Berlin, Germany.
Nadal has played a limited schedule after coming back from hip
surgery in 2023 and dealing with abdominal muscle issues this
year.
After losing his second-round singles match against eventual
gold medalist Novak Djokovic of Serbia in Paris, Nadal said he
will wait until after the Olympics to discuss his retirement
plans.
"I cannot spend every day thinking about whether it is the last
or not, because otherwise it is impossible," he said.
"I have the doubles left. It is not time to get down," added
Nadal, who partnered with Carlos Alcaraz but fell in the doubles
quarterfinals. "When I finish here, I will make the decisions I
have to make here."
Nadal has skipped the U.S. Open in four of the past five years
-- he reached the fourth round in 2022, losing to Frances Tiafoe.
This year, an injury led him to sit out the Australian Open in
January, then in May he lost in the first round at the French
Open, where is a 14-time champion. He decided to skip the grass
courts of Wimbledon to focus on the clay at Roland Garros for
the Olympics.
--Field Level Media [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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