Rafa Nadal undergoing ankle operation, out for the season
The Spaniard has withdrawn from the ATP finals in London to have a foreign body removed from inside his right ankle.
Rafa Nadal will not take part in the ATP Finals and waves goodbye to the rest of the season. The Spaniard is undergoing an arthroscopic intervention at the Mapfre Medical Clinic in Barcelona to remove "a foreign body floating inside his right ankle", Doctor Ángel Ruiz Cotorro confirmed in a statement this afternoon. The player had earlierannounced that he would not be able to take part in London due to abdominal pains which forced him to miss last week's Paris Masters.
Djokovic to end 2018 as world No.1
It means that Novak Djokovic, who returned to top spot in the world rankings today, is now guaranteed to end the year as number one as neither the injured Nadal nor Roger Federer, who is too far behind, can catch him. Nadal's place at the tournament will be taken by North American John Isner. Djokovic, Federer, Zverev, Anderson, Cilic, Thiem, Nishikori and Isner are the eight aspirants to win the Finals.
Nadal releases statement
Nadal issued a statement on social media this afternoon: ""It has been a difficult year - very good on a tennis level when I have been able to play and, at the same time, very bad as far as injuries are concerned. I have done everything possible to reach the end of the season in full fitness, both for Paris and London; I really wanted to play. Unfortunately, I had an abdominal problem in Paris last week and I also have a foreign body in the ankle joint that has to be removed through surgery. We had detected it a while ago and it occasionally bothered me. However, since the problem in the abdominal muscles also prevents me from playing in London, we are taking the time to remove the foreign body and avoid future problems. This way I hope to be in top conditions for next season. Thank you to everyone for your support"