Injured Nadal pulls out of Laver Cup. Has the 'Big Three' era finally ended?

When Rafael Nadal confirmed in April this year that he will feature in the Laver Cup 2024, many had expected that he will follow in the footsteps of Roger Federer, his good friend and rival, and announce retirement after competing in the tournament.

However, fate had other plans as Nadal was forced to pull out of the event on Thursday since he did not feel he could give his best at the upcoming event.

"I'm really disappointed to share that I won't be able to compete at the Laver Cup in Berlin next week," the 22-time Grand Slam champion in a statement released by tournament organisers.

"This is a team competition and to really support Team Europe, I need to do what's best for them and at this moment there are other players who can help the team deliver the win."

A European team competes against a World team in the Laver Cup. Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe will lead the two six-player squads, similar to all the six previous editions.

Nadal also withdrew from the US Open in August as he was not confident about giving his 100 percent on the court.

Nadal was on the sidelines for nearly the entire 2023 season because of a hip injury and has only featured in one of the last seven Grand Slams, ousted in the first round of this year's French Open.

The Laver Cup said a replacement player for Team Europe would be announced soon, to join other stars including Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

The competition takes place between September 20-22.

"I have so many great, emotional memories from playing Laver Cup and I was really looking forward to being with my teammates and with Bjorn in his final year as captain," continued Nadal in the statement.

"I wish Team Europe the very best of luck and will be cheering them on from afar."

Nadal is next due to appear at the Six Kings Slam, a Saudi Arabian elite tennis exhibition in October.

Federer ‘feels sorry’ for Nadal

The 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer also felt sorry for injury-plagued Nadal in a recent interview.

"I felt a little bit sorry for him, that his summer didn’t go as well as planned because at the French Open he had a tough draw,” Federer told the Today Show earlier this month.

"Olympics, he had a tough draw as well. He was hoping, I think, to get a medal.

"But you know, overall he can do whatever he wants. He’s been one of the most iconic tennis players we have ever had in our sport and that’s what I told him.

"I just hope he can go out on his terms and the way he wants to, but he’s a great guy, great career."

End of Big Three?

An epoch-shifting Grand Slam season dominated by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz has provided the clearest sign yet that the "Big Three" era of men's tennis is finally over, with Novak Djokovic destined to be its last year-end number one.

The golden rule that you should never write off Djokovic still holds true, but after he, Nadal and Federer had won at least one Grand Slam title between them every season since 2003, this year there were none.

Sinner lifted the U.S. Open title on Sunday following his breakthrough Australian Open triumph in January, while Alcaraz won the French Open and Wimbledon to mark the first time since 1993 that men aged 23 or under had swept the Grand Slams.

Jannik Sinner celebrates with the trophy after defeating Taylor Fritz (USA) in the men's singles final of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.Reuters

The extraordinary dominance of the "Big Three" saw them win 66 of 81 Grand Slam tournaments from Federer's first Wimbledon title in 2003 to Djokovic's 24th major title at Flushing Meadows last year.

With Federer retired and Nadal hampered by injury, Djokovic single-handedly held back the younger generation in 2023 by winning three of the four majors and finishing as the year-end number one for a record-extending eighth time.

This year, Djokovic endured a lacklustre Grand Slam campaign by his lofty standards, starting with a semi-final loss to Sinner at Melbourne Park and continuing with an injury enforced withdrawal from the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

Mauled by Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, he suffered a chastening defeat by Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the U.S. Open and was shut out of the majors for the first time since his injury-plagued 2017 season.