Rafael Nadal has been forced to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters because of a wrist injury.
The Spaniard was plagued from the injury throughout the latter stages of the new Laver Cup and he was unable to compete at his singles match in Geneva.
The eighth ATP Masters 1000 event of the season – which starts on Sunday, was set to compriseThe Big Four of Novak Djokovic Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray as the Australian Open of January for the first time.
But, Nadals wait for a Shanghai name will now continue.
I am very sad to announce that I wont be able to play in Shanghai this past year. Its the second year in a row and in China I have good fans, Nadal said in a statement.
However, as you probably know, I had an swelling in my left wrist throughout the Laver Cup and I havent had the time to recover and practice to be ready. I am hoping to be back in Shanghai for its 2020 tournament.
The Grand Slam champion is in an 11-game winning series, which featured his US Open win that is dramatic against Daniil Medvedev final month.
Nadal has dropped one of the last 29 matches, a series that also contained his French Open title at Roland Garros and Masters names in Rome and Montreal.
Nevertheless, his absence will give the chance to close the gap around the 33-year-old from the battle to finish world to defending Shanghai champion Djokovic.
The Serbian trailed Nadal to London coming to this week by 1,960 points in the ATP Race, however Djokovic could earn 500 points if he triumphs at Tokyo this weekend along with an additional 1,000 points if he keeps his Shanghai crown.

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