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Rafael Nadal withdraws from ATP Finals, must consider 2018 tour

By Harry Floyd

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 13: Rafael Nadal of Spain leaves the court after defeat in his Singles match against David Goffin of Belgium during day two of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena on November 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 13: Rafael Nadal of Spain leaves the court after defeat in his Singles match against David Goffin of Belgium during day two of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena on November 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Rafael Nadal ends his time at the 2017 ATP Finals early. The year-end world No. 1 withdraws due to his lingering knee injury.

Rafael Nadal ends the 2017 ATP World Tour as the year-end world No. 1.

The Spanish superstar will, however, have to wait yet another year for a shot at an ATP Finals title. Nadal withdraws from play at The O2 Arena in London after his opening match loss to Belgian’s David Goffin. The world No. 1 continues to struggle with an ongoing knee injury.

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Now, the path is set for six-time ATP Finals champion Roger Federer. The Swiss great is off to a 2-0 start in London this week. With the absence of Nadal, Federer becomes the heavy favorite to win the ATP Finals.

Rafael Nadal closes 2017 with 2 Grand Slams and 2 Masters 1000 wins among his 6 total titles on the year.

After dropping out of the Paris Masters last week before the quarterfinals, many doubted Nadal’s ability to compete in the ATP Finals.

Despite lasting his match with Goffin, he did appear to breakdown toward the end of the third set. The Belgian continues on at the 2017 ATP Finals in London, facing Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov on Wednesday at the event. As for Nadal’s spot in London, fellow countryman Pablo Carreño Busta replaces the year-end world No. 1. He squares off against Dominic Thiem at the tournament on Wednesday.

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If Roger Federer can taste glory in London, he will be right on the heels of Rafael Nadal come the start of the 2018 ATP World Tour. Even though the knee injury has caught up to the world No. 1 at the bitter end of the year, his mind must be on scheduling for the 2018 season.

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Having qualified for the previous thirteen finals, Nadal has only been fit enough to compete in eight of the events.

Several top players in men’s singles tennis have ended their seasons early due to injury. Among those are Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka, and others.

Players such as Milos Raonic have also suffered significant enough injuries to pull them away from big tournament action throughout the year.

Rafael Nadal is yet another causality of the 2017 ATP World Tour. One of the biggest fan favorites and greatest to ever play the sport, all are hopeful that this injury will not impact the start of his 2018 tour. For the time being, he remains in search of an ATP Finals title. Stay tuned to see how he fares throughout the offseason.

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