ATP Finals: In recovery mode, Rafael Nadal plans to compete at season-ending championship in London

Madrid: World number one Rafael Nadal, recovering from injury, confirmed Tuesday he will compete at the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in London from 10-17 November . “Yesterday I had an MRI in Mallorca and despite a slight strain to the left abdominal muscle I will go to London,” tweeted Nadal, forced out of last week’s Paris Masters by the same injury. “Thursday or Friday I will start hitting serves. The idea is to play the ATP Finals. Thanks for your support.” Nadal took over as world number one this week from Novak Djokovic who went on to win the Paris Masters.

Hola a todos. Ayer tuve una resonancia en Mallorca y a pesar de tener una pequeña distensión en el recto abdominal derecho, viajaré a Londres. Jueves o viernes iniciaré la adaptación al servicio. La idea es de poder jugar las #atpfinals en Londres. Gracias por el apoyo!

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) November 5, 2019

The eight top-ranked players in the world gather in London for the ATP Tour Finals where Nadal’s world number one ranking will be under threat from Djokovic. The Serb would be sure of reclaiming the year-end top ranking should he win the tournament and Nadal fail to reach the semis. If Nadal fails to win even one round robin match, Djokovic could be crowned world number one simply by reaching the final after two group-stage wins.