Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s BNP Paribas Masters in Paris and next month’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. A two-time runner-up at the season finale in London, Nadal will undergo appendix surgery 3 November.
Nadal confirmed after a 6-2, 7-6(4) loss to 17-year-old Croat Borna Coric Friday at the Swiss Indoors that he would not play again this season. “I have maximum respect for both tournaments. I love the city of Paris and the people who work there. London is a fantastic tournament with great fans, so it wasn’t an easy decision for me.
“If I don’t have a chance to win, I’m better to let my body try to recover… I accept [that] and I know [that] I have to be better for the beginning of 2015, and the only way to be better is to work on my health. Without health, you cannot work.”
Nadal first revealed his appendix troubles during the Shanghai Rolex Masters, where he fell in the opening round to Feliciano Lopez.
Nadal finished runner-up at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in 2013 and 2010.
Nadal’s withdrawal means that there are now four singles places up for grabs at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which begins 9 November at The O2 in London.