By Chris Oddo | Thursday October 20, 2016

 

Rafael Nadal pulled the plug on his 2016 tennis season, saying that he needs time to heal his injured left wrist completely.

Photo Source: AP

Rafael Nadal has ended his 2016 season due to a lingering wrist injury that he plans to mend completely in the off-season. The 14-time major champion announced the news on Facebook on Thursday.

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Nadal finishes the season with a 39-16 record and titles in Barcelona and Monte-Carlo. He appeared to be finding his magical form this spring on the clay, but was forced to pull out of Roland Garros before his third-round match due to the wrist injury.

With Roger Federer already ending his season due to multiple injuries, 2016 marks the first year that will see both Federer and Nadal absent from the prestigious year-end finals.

Also see: Federer Pulls Plug on 2016 Season

Eventually Nadal returned and played brilliantly at the Olympics, winning the Gold medal in doubles and reaching the semifinals in singles, but he was knocked out of the U.S. Open in five sets by Lucas Pouille, marking the fifth straight major that he did not reach the quarterfinals.

“I am forced to stop and start preparing the 2017 season," Nadal wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday. "Now it is time to rest and start preparing intensively the 2017 season. I am very saddened for not being able to play next week in Basel since I have a great memory of the tournament and the final played against Roger Federer last year. I won’t be able to compete either in Paris-Bercy, where the crowds and the FFT staff have always treated me so well. Now it is time to rest and start preparing intensively the 2017 season."