CINCINNATI (AP) — The Western & Southern Open starts in Mason on Saturday and after pulling out of the hard-court tournament in Toronto this week, Rafael Nadal said he was also withdrawing from the upcoming event in Cincinnati because of an injured left foot that has troubled him for months.
The decision by the 20-time Grand Slam champion means he is unlikely to play before the U.S. Open. Nadal won the U.S. Open in 2019, the last time he entered.
Milos Raonic, who has a heel injury, also pulled out of Cincinnati on Wednesday. Other stars not playing include Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin.
The 35-year-old Nadal played last week in Washington, winning his match against Jack Sock and losing to Lloyd Harris — both in three sets. Nadal was bothered by the foot there.
That marked his first competition in about two months. After losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open on June 11, Nadal sat out Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics because of the injury and went about three weeks without practicing.
The U.S. Open begins Aug. 30 in New York.
___
More AP tennis coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
