NATIONAL BANK OPEN

August 10, 2021

Rafael Nadal

Flash Interview

Q. Unfortunate for you to have to pull out of this tournament. Talk about how you feel and about the injury.

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I have had this issue for a couple of months, as people know. Yeah, of course is not a happy situation after all the success that I had here in Canada, not be able to play this year after missing a year.

Is a tough one, but that's how it is today, no? I need to go back and try to find a way to be better again, no? At the end of the day, for me is most important thing is enjoy playing tennis. Today, with this pain, I am not able to enjoy, and I really don't believe that I have chances to fight for the things that I really need to fight.

Q. Had it been bothering you in practice when you came here to Toronto? Constant pain?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I have been under this process of pain last couple of months. I wanted to try even like this. I went to Washington. I tried hard there. People who follow tennis, watched on TV, I was suffering, especially in that first match. And I was suffering on the practices, too, but you always expect an improvement or you hope to improvement, and that's why I came here.

And this improvement didn't happen, no? So I really believe that I am not able to compete at the level that I need because the foot don't allow me to move the way that I need.

Q. Is it your left or right foot?

RAFAEL NADAL: It's the left foot.

Q. So what's your plans now from here?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I gonna check. Just taken my decision. The main thing now is I'm not able to play here, something that I feel bad for it. I really wanted to play here a lot, but now is the moment to take a decision, and that's unfortunately the decision that I taked, and probably in the next couple of days we're gonna know more.