Rafael Nadal withdraws from Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Championship

Rafael Nadal (Reuters)

Madrid: Spanish tennis player and world number one, Rafael Nadal, will not compete at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC), the 10th edition of which is starting in Abu Dhabi on December 28, the tournament's organisers confirmed on Saturday.

The Spaniard will be replaced by his compatriot, Roberto Bautista Agut, currently world no. 20, reports Efe.

"I am very sorry and disappointed to announce that I won't be competing this year at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship," Nadal said, according to the tournament's official website.

"It was a tough 2017 and I need to take my calendar in a different way in order to be ready," the world number one added.

Bautista managed to finish among the top 25 in the last four seasons and won two ATP titles in 2017.

Both Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland and Milos Raonic of Canada had previously announced their withdrawals from the tournament, to be replaced by Kevin Anderson of South Africa and Andrey Rublev of Russia, respectively.

This year's edition of the MWTC, which offers $250,000 to the winner, will also feature Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Dominic Thiem of Austria and Pablo Carreño Busta of Spain.