Rafa Nadal Not Defending US Open Title

Rafa Nadal Not Defending US Open Title

(CNN) Citing the "complicated" nature of the world under the pandemic, Rafael Nadal has opted not to defend his US Open title later this month in Flushing Meadows, New York.

In a tweet posted Tuesday, Nadal said: "I have decided not to play this year's US Open.

2 Nadal is a four-time US Open winner and has collected 19 grand slam singles titles, one behind Roger Federer, who will also miss the US Open with a knee injury.

On the entry list with three-time US Open champion Djokovic were six other men from the world's top 10, notably Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, who was a US Open finalist in 2019.