Rafael Nadal is currently away from the tennis courts due to an abdominal strain suffered at Wimbledon, but according to the Canadian Open tournament director, his hotel room is booked for the event.
The most recent time we saw Nadal on the tennis courts was at Wimbledon, where he was playing some super solid tennis. After winning Roland Garros, the Spaniard elected to play in London as well, and it was going well.
He bested Taylor Fritz in a very close match to secure a semi-final showdown with Nick Kyrgios, but unfortunately, it never came to that as the Spaniard withdrew from the match due to an abdominal strain that he sustained in the previous match.
The severity of the injury wasn’t known at the time, but it was pretty clear that it wasn’t minor. Lots of fans were hoping that it wouldn’t be as bad and that he would play in North America.
According to Canadian Open tournament director Eugene Lapierre, Nadal confirmed to him that he wants to compete and play at the event.
"Nadal really wants to come to Montreal and his hotel room is already booked. He was sent a crate of balls to use during the tournament to prepare. He is expected to return to training on Monday."
It’s very positive news for all Nadal's fans because it indicates that the injury might not be as severe as initially thought. If he will come back already in Montreal, then his US Open participation shouldn't be in doubt, either.
That’s ultimately the most important event for the Spaniard, who has looked decent when he played this year. This isn’t a confirmation that he’ll likely play in Montreal because, ultimately, the only proof of that will be him showing up in the city, but it’s very good news after the upsetting way Wimbledon concluded.