Rafael Nadal has seen a remarkable record come to an end after Jannik Sinner took charge of the race for Turin.
Nadal was never going to play in the season-ending tournament this year regardless due to a foot injury he had been battling for a while.
It is not the first time he won’t be present at the ATP Finals, however he has always secured sufficient points to have qualified had he been fit enough to play.
This year, though, for the first time since 2004, Nadal has failed to qualify following Sinner’s run to the semi-finals in Vienna.
Six players have already qualified for the ATP Finals – Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, and Matteo Berrettini.
Casper Ruud and Sinner are currently in the final two spots, with Hubert Hurkacz still in contention too.
Rafael Nadal is fighting to return to action for next season, with the Australian Open a natural target.
However, he is still reluctant to put any kind of time frame on his recovery.
“I want to recover from this injury in good condition,” Nadal recently explained.
“I don’t know when I will play again. I work a lot every day, I follow a specific plan with a marked roadmap and with very clear objectives.”
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