Chaotic Hard Court Season Ahead as Nadal & Na Withdraw from Tournaments

With the U.S. Open right around the corner two major stars have suffered injuries.

Last year's winner, Rafael Nadal, has an injury to his right wrist. While Nadal plays left-handed he still uses a two-handed backhand. He's withdrawn from both Toronto and Cincinnati, the big US Open warm-up tournaments, and his Grand Slam appearance is far from a sure thing. Nadal won the U.S. Open in 2010 and 2013, when he beat Novak Djokovic in the final. Nadal is currently ranked no. 2 in the world with Djokovic holding the no. 1 spot.

As the defending champion for both Cincinnati and Toronto, Nadal will lose 2000 ranking points for not playing while Djokovic stands to gain 1460 points. If Djokovic wins both hard-court tournaments then he will extend his hold on the no. 1 ranking. However, if Federer, currently no. 3, wins both tournaments, he can gain 1820 points and close the gap between him and Nadal and if Nadal does end up pulling out of the U.S. Open, that's another 2000 points gone.

On the women's side, Li Na has withdrawn from Montreal, Cincinnati and the U.S. Open due to a knee injury. Li Na won this year's Australian Open and the 2011 French Open. Like Nadal, Li Na is currently ranked no. 2.  Without all of these tournaments, Li Na can see some downward movement in the rankings.