By Kim Douglass

(November 5, 2010) Rafael Nadal announced today his decision to pull out of the Paris Masters due to tendinitis in his left shoulder. The World No.1 has suffered from this same injury in the past within in his knees over the past few years. He cited the source of the injury from practicing his serve while at home in Mallorca this past week and needs to rest for proper healing.  

In a statement, the 24-year-old Nadal said,

"It is nothing to be worried about but the doctor told me I have to spend those days doing intensive treatment and functional rehabilitation with physiotherapy."

He also added,

"I'm very sorry for the tournament organizers, who've always treated me in a very special way, and especially sorry for all my fans in France and in Paris that I won't be able to be with them in one of my favorite cities in the world."

This comes as a bit of a surprise, as Nadal has been on a roll this last year, winning the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. The top player has been relatively low key after suffering a loss to Jurgen Melzers at the Shanghai Masters on Oct. 14. Admitting to feeling fatigued after 20 tournament appearances in the last year. All of which have contributed to his 67-9 record with seven titles for the year of 2010.

By withdrawing, the door is left open for former No.1 Roger Federer to become the No. 1 seed in the tournament beginning Sunday.

On Monday, Oct. 8, Nadal will travel to Paris to meet with media and his fans. As of now, he is still scheduled to play in the season-ending World Tour finals in London later this month.