STARNBERG, October 20, 2016

Rafael Nadal has ended his 2016 early in order to fully recover from his left wrist injury that troubled him during the last couple of months.

“It is no secret that I arrived to the Olympic Games short of preparation and not fully recovered, but the goal was to compete and win a medal for Spain,” said Nadal, who reached his last final at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona in April. The 30-year-old Spaniard was also forced to withdraw from the All England Championships in Wimbledon.

“This forced recovery has caused me pain since then and now I am forced to stop and start preparing the 2017 season.”

Nadal, who is ranked sixth in the world, was expected to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. He is currently ranked number seven in the ATP Race. Federer has already announced during summer that he is not going to play another tournament in 2016. An ATP season finale without Federer and Nadal had taken place for the last time in 2001.

Here is his facebook statement: