Nadal pulls out of U.S. Open due to wrist injury: Report

Rafael Nadal has announced he will not defend his U.S. Open crown due to his ongoing recovery from a wrist injury.

In a statement posted to Facebook on Monday morning, Nadal said he won't compete at the Grand Slam event, which begins next Monday in New York. 

Siento anunciar que no podré participar en el US Open, torneo en el que en los últimos años he tenido muy buenos... http://t.co/ryV4CzWCBh
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) August 18, 2014

I am very sorry to announce I won’t be able to play at this year’s US Open a tournament on which I’ve played 3 consecutive finals in my last participations. I am sure you understand that it is a very tough moment for me since it is a tournament I love and where I have great memories from fans, the night matches, so many things… Not much more I can do right now, other than accept the situation and, as always in my case, work hard in order to be able to compete at the highest level once I am back.

Although the announcement wasn’t a huge surprise, there had been speculation in recent days that Nadal might be able to mount a title defense. He posted training photos to his Facebook page that showed him practicing with a splint on his injured wrist.

Nadal will miss his third Slam in the past two years leaving the men’s field with just four former champions: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Lleyton Hewitt playing in New York.

It’s only the fourth time in the Open era a defending champion won’t play in New York.