ARTICLES:

• Wrist Injury Forces Rafael Nadal Out of Two U.S. Open Tuneups (via New York Times)

Nadal, the defending champion at the United States Open, announced that his wrist needed to be immobilized in a cast for at least two to three weeks, which will force him to miss the warm-up Masters events in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Nadal flew to Barcelona from his training base in Manacor, in Majorca, for tests of his wrist, which revealed “a small disinsertion of the posterior ulnar pod of his right wrist.” Nadal’s camp offered a prognosis, saying in a statement: “Depending on the evolution of the injury that will be carefully followed by the doctors, including M.R.I. tests, it will be decided then the return to competition, initially scheduled for the U.S. Open.”

• Nadal pulls out of Toronto, Cincinnati; questionable for U.S. Open (via tennis.com)

Nadal’s manager, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, wrote in an emailed release that the Spaniard was hurt in practice on his home island of Mallorca while getting ready for the North American hard-court circuit. Perez-Barbadillo said that doctors determined Wednesday that Nadal will need to wear a cast on his wrist for two to three weeks and the initial prognosis is for him to be able to return to action at the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 25. But doctors will keep tabs on the injury, including with MRI exams, and then decide when Nadal can play again.

• Una lesión deja a Nadal fuera de Toronto y Cincinnati (via El Pais)

Nadal no estará en el Masters 1000 de Cincinnati ni en el de Toronto. El tenista español ha anunciado que ha sufrido una lesión en la muñeca derecha que le dejará fuera de las pistas al menos dos o tres semanas, justo cuando se celebran las dos competiciones que preceden al US Open, el próximo Grand Slam. “Pido disculpas al torneo y a todos lo aficionados”, expresó el balear.

• Rafael Nadal injures wrist; is his U.S. Open title defense in jeopardy? (via USA Today)

On the bright side, a wrist isn’t a knee, the body part that’s given Nadal the most trouble during his career. It’s also a right wrist injury, which should be less problematic for the left-handed Nadal. But even a wrist on the off-hand will play havoc with a two-handed backhand and ball toss. The amount of power needed to repeatedly hit those shots gives the wrist a constant beating on the court.

Photo: Ella Ling

Photo: Ella Ling

• Some ‘licking their chops’ at Nadal absence (via Yahoo News)

“It’s unfortunate to see him go but … there are too many that are hungry and are licking their chops,” Raonic said at the ATP and WTA Washington Open.

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AUDIO & VIDEO:

• Nadal se pierde Cincinnati y Toronto por lesión (video via ESPN)
• Doctor Cotorro, en El Partido de las 12: “Nadal está tocado, eran dos torneos muy importantes para él” (audio via cope.es)

El doctor Cotorro habló en El Partido de las 12 de la lesión de Nadal en la muñeca. “Es una lesión frecuente en el tenis, pero que debe ser bien tratada para evitar problemas”. Cotorro no se aventuró a asegurar si el mallorquín podrá participar en el US Open. “El plazo de recuperación es entre dos y tres semanas, veremos como recupera y a partir de la evolución si puede participar o no”.