Rafael Nadal withdraws from the US Open, the 3rd Grand Slam tournament he'll miss this year

ENT

Rafael Nadal withdraws from the US Open, the 3rd Grand Slam tournament he'll miss this year

2024-08-08 05:08 Last Updated At：05:10

Rafael Nadal pulled out of the U.S. Open on Wednesday, making it the third Grand Slam tournament he's missed this season and raising more questions about his future in tennis at age 38.

Nadal wrote on social media that he will miss “those electric and special night sessions” in Arthur Ashe Stadium, “but I don’t think I would be able to give my 100% this time.”

He added that his next event will be the Laver Cup in Berlin on Sept. 20-22. Nadal teamed with Roger Federer in a doubles match at that event in 2022, when Federer played for the final time before his retirement.

Nadal's announcement was not much of a surprise. Yes, he was on the official entry list released last month for New York, but that was more of a formality than anything and did not preclude the 22-time major champion from withdrawing at any point before competition begins Aug. 26.

Plus, Nadal telegraphed this news a week ago after his participation in the 2024 Olympics for Spain ended with a quarterfinal loss in doubles alongside Carlos Alcaraz. That followed a second-round loss in singles to rival Novak Djokovic, who left Paris with the men's gold medal.

When he was asked then about playing at the U.S. Open, Nadal paused for a while before responding.

“Looks like not. But I’m going to let you know soon,” he said. “For me, now, I can’t give you a clear answer. I need some time, but for me, (it) looks difficult.”

Nadal has not announced anything about a possible retirement, but given his age and a recent history of injuries — including hip surgery in 2023 and abdominal muscle issues in 2024 that limited his number of matches the past two seasons — it seems safe to say he probably does not have much left in him.

He is a four-time champion at the U.S. Open, taking the titles in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019. But the absence this time means he will have sat out the hard-court tournament in four of the past five years; the exception was 2022, when he lost in the fourth round to Frances Tiafoe.

In 2023, Nadal hurt his hip during the Australian Open in January and was forced to skip the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. This year, he hurt a muscle near the hip during a tuneup event before the Australian Open, so he sat that out. He then played at the French Open in May, but lost in the first round to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev. Nadal opted to skip Wimbledon last month so he wouldn't have to manage the transition from the clay at Roland Garros to the grass at the All England Club, before returning to clay for the Olympics.

Nadal owns a record 14 titles from the French Open, and two apiece from Wimbledon and the Australian Open. His most recent two Slam trophies arrived in 2022, at Melbourne in January and at Paris in June, pushing him ahead of Federer for the then-record of 20 Grand Slam titles for a man.

Federer announced his retirement when he was 41 at the end of the 2022 season. Both he and Nadal have since been surpassed in the Grand Slam count by Djokovic, who reached 24 by winning last year's U.S. Open.

The U.S. Tennis Association said that Nadal's place in the tournament would be taken by Mackie McDonald, the American who is No. 93, making him the highest-ranked man not yet in the field. McDonald defeated Nadal at the 2023 Australian Open.

The draw to set the brackets for the U.S. Open is scheduled for Aug. 22.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Violent storms cut through the South and Midwest, spawning tornadoes and killing 6

2025-04-04 00:49 Last Updated At：00:51

LAKE CITY, Ark. (AP) — Tornadoes and violent winds flattened homes and ripped apart buildings from Oklahoma to Indiana in the first round of storms that are expected to bring record-setting rains and life-threatening flash floods across the nation’s midsection in the coming days.

At least six people were killed in western Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana in the first wave on Wednesday and early Thursday that spun off powerful tornadoes — one launching debris nearly 5 miles (8 kilometers) above the ground in Arkansas.

Homes along the highway that crosses through Lake City, Arkansas, had completely collapsed, their brick walls crushed and roofs gone. Three cars were tossed into trees. Workers were using bulldozers to clear debris.

“I don’t really know how to explain it,” said Cody Ferguson, who hid in a storm shelter with neighbors while the twister roared above them. “Just real loud rumbling, a lot of bangs, debris.”

The home he had built from the ground up was destroyed, and he said a neighbor from across the street was seriously injured.

Among the deaths, at least four people were killed in western Tennessee, including a man and his teenage daughter whose home was destroyed, and an Indiana man who died after his pickup truck struck downed powerlines.

More than 90 million people were at risk of severe weather across an area stretching from Texas to Minnesota and Maine, according to the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center.

Potentially deadly flash flooding was forecast through Saturday for the South and Midwest as severe thunderstorms blowing eastward become supercharged. The potent storm system will bring “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” each day, the National Weather Service said.

With more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain possible over the next four days, the prolonged deluge “is an event that happens once in a generation to once in a lifetime,” the weather service said. “Historic rainfall totals and impacts are possible.”

Water rescue teams were being staged across the region and the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready to distribute food, water, cots, generators and meals.

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

Under darkened skies Thursday morning, the remains of a used car dealership in Selmer, Tennessee, stood gutted by the storm with the roof ripped off. Shards of debris scattered across the car lot and wrapped around the mangled trees.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol released video of lightning illuminating the sky as troopers, Selmer police, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters scoured the rubble of a decimated home early Thursday morning, looking for anyone trapped.

In neighboring Arkansas, a tornado emergency, the weather service's highest alert, was briefly declared around Blytheville on Wednesday evening, with debris lofted at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers), according to weather service meteorologist Chelly Amin.

The Arkansas Division of Emergency Management reported damage in 22 counties due to tornadoes, wind gusts, hail and flash flooding.

In far western Kentucky, four people were injured while taking shelter in a vehicle under a church carport, said the emergency management office in Ballard County. Multiple buildings and homes were badly damaged from what appeared to have been a tornado, the agency said.

Emergency crews worked for several hours to free a warehouse worker trapped after a roof and a wall collapsed near Indianapolis. The woman was conscious and talking during the rescue on Wednesday.

“It was just heavy debris that had fallen on top of her,” Brownsburg Fire Department spokesperson Kamrick Holding told WTHR-TV. “She happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Wind gusts blew over semitrucks, downed power lines and caused power outages that disrupted classes in at least 10 school districts in Indiana.

More than half a million customers in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas were without power early Thursday following the peak of the storms, according to PowerOutage.us.

Round after round of heavy rains are expected from Texas to Kentucky through Saturday. Forecasters warned that the lingering storms could track over the same areas repeatedly, producing dangerous flash floods capable of sweeping cars away.

Parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana could see rains totaling up to 15 inches (38 centimeters), the weather service warned.

Western Kentucky residents were bracing for historic amounts of rain and flooding in places that normally don’t get overwhelmed by water, Gov. Andy Beshear said.

Flash flooding is a particular worry in rural areas of the state where floodwaters can quickly rush off the mountains into the hollows. Less than four years ago, dozens died in flooding across eastern Kentucky.

Walker IV reported from Selmer, Tennessee; and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Isabella O'Malley in Philadelphia; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.