Tennis Rumors: Rafael Nadal Being Risky With Injury

Rafael Nadal's decision to pull out of the inaugural International Premier League Tennis has raised concerns about the current status of the 14-time Grand Slam champion heading into the final two months of the ATP season.

Nadal, who has not seen action since losing to Nick Kygrios in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Open, withdrew his name from the IPLT competition to speed up his recovery from a wrist injury. The former world's no.1 tennis player disclosed his decision on his Twitter and Facebook account last week.

"I am very disappointed to announce that I will not be part of the first edition of the IPTL," Nadal said in the statement. "I was looking forward to representing Indian Aces and playing in front of fans in New Delhi in the exciting new league. I wish the team the very best and hope to be back next year."

The 28-year old Nadal suffered a fractured right wrist in the height of his training for the North American hard-court season, when he was expected to defend three titles: the Rogers Cup, Cincinnati Masters and US Open championships.

The Spaniard failed to participate in all of these tournaments, costing him a lot of points in the ATP World Tour race. His uncle, Toni Nadal, confirmed two weeks ago that he's scheduled to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in an exhibition game in Kazakhstan, but his participation in that event could be in jeopardy because of the nagging injury.

Losing Nadal's starpower is a big blow to the inaugural IPLT tournament, which adapts the system of cricket's Indian Premier League team. Thankfully, the IPLT had a big break after getting the nod of arguably the greatest tennis player of all time - Roger Federer.

"When you are talking of profile as high as Rafa Nadal, there was probably only one name that could have helped ease the pain and for us fortunately Roger was available and we made it happen," Bhupathi said in his statement.

"Rafa has been hurt since Wimbledon, he has not played any tennis. So obviously there was a risk there, in the format we have neither party wanted to take a chance."

Big Risk Nadal Has To Take

According to reports, Nadal is expected to play in the Asian circuit of the ATP Tour in the tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai. It's going to be a test to see Nadal's improvement after that Grand Slam-derailing wrist injury, and at the same time, it also poses more risk to the Spaniard.

As stated by his uncle coach, Nadal is still not comfortable using a double-handed backhand because the injury is not yet fully healed. Playing hurt could pose some risk to Nadal moving forward for the reason that it may inflict more damage to the detached cartilage.

Skipping the remainder of the season could have been the best choice for Nadal, but it seems his competitive nature prevailed once again. There's no doubt that the Mallorcan Bull will bring high-level of intensity on the court, a choice he has to take with reckless abandon.