Team Europe's Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the remainder of the 2022 Laver Cup for personal reasons.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner featured on the opening day of action at the O2 Arena, playing with his long-time rival and friend Roger Federer one last time as the Swiss star retired from the sport.
The Team Europe duo were beaten by American duo Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe in an entertaining match in London, although the result was eclipsed by scenes afterwards as the sport said farewell to Federer.
Nadal was in tears alongside his fellow great as the era-defining rivalry between the two players - widely considered one of the greatest rivalries in sporting history - officially came to an end.
Having helped to see off his most renowned adversary, Nadal has now pulled out of the Ryder Cup-style event due to personal reasons.
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The Spaniard revealed after his US Open exit earlier this month that his pregnant wife had been taken to hospital due to complications as they await the birth of their first child.
Nadal confirmed that the situation has now improved, but he will play no further part in the Laver Cup this year, being replaced in Team Europe by Britain's Cameron Norrie.
"Luckily everything is fine, and we are much calmer. And in that sense, well, I was able to come here, which for me was the most important thing," Nadal told reporters.
"I could not miss this day. And here I've been beyond the circumstances with which he personally arrived. He had to be here, whatever the moment."
The 36-year-old's decision means that Team Europe have now lost two of their biggest names, with Federer's place being taken by Matteo Berrettini following his retirement.
Barney Corkhill
