Rafael Nadal Withdraws from 2019 Paris Masters with Abdominal Injury

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the semi-finals of the 2019 Paris Masters with an abdominal injury.

ESPN relayed the news, with the Spaniard having suffered the injury during his practice session on Saturday morning ahead of his clash with Denis Shapovalov.

Shapovalov will advance to the final, where he'll face Novak Djokovic.

In a press conference after his withdrawal, Nadal revealed a scan showed he has suffered a small strain:

Per ESPN, the 33-year-old resumed practice after seeing the doctor but decided to withdraw as he was still in pain while serving.

As tennis broadcaster Ravi Ubha observed, it has been some time since Nadal faced Djokovic in an indoor match outside of the ATP Finals:

Nadal's attention is now on that tournament, which begins in London on November 10.

"That's the biggest goal right now," he said. "We can call it unlucky, we can call it different things, but it happened today. And when things happen, the only thing that you can do is accept it. And even if it's a tough situation for me, I need to stay positive."

The injury is also a blow to his chances of remaining the world No. 1 by the end of the year.

Had Nadal won the Paris Masters, he'd have been guaranteed to retain the ranking until 2020. World No. 2 Djokovic is 1,040 points behind Nadal, so he can close the gap if he wins the ATP Masters 1000 event on Sunday.