A back injury prevents Nadal from participating in the Rotterdam tennis tournament

Veteran Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, the number two in the world, decided to withdraw from the Rotterdam championship, which starts next week, citing a back injury.

"It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from the Rotterdam tournament. As most of the fans know, I had some back problems in Australia that started in Adelaide and continued through Melbourne," the tournament organizing committee quoted Nadal as saying.

"We found a temporary solution that allowed me to play without pain in the second week of the Australian Championship," Nadal added.

"As soon as I returned to Spain, I visited my doctor, who agreed with my team not to play during the next week," Nadal said.

The Russian Daniel Medvedev, the number three in the world, who lost the final of the Australian Open last week to Novak Djokovic, is now the number one in the Rotterdam Championship, which will be held from the first to the seventh of next March in the Netherlands.

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