Rafael Nadal announced on Monday that he will not participate in the upcoming 2014 U.S. Open tennis men's single tournament that is scheduled to start on Aug. 25 after failing to recover from a wrist injury.

Nadal, who made the finals of his last three participations and is the defending champion this year, announced his decision in a statement through the official website of the tournament.

"I am very sorry to announce I won't be able to play at this year's US Open, a tournament on which I've played three consecutive finals in my last participations," Nadal said in a statement.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion sustained a right wrist injury in training, which also forced him to skip his title defense in two Masters 1000 event in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Nadal, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the final last year, was optimistic that he will recover in time for the tournament despite reports indicating that test results last week were not good.

Nadal originally promised to announce a decision last Friday or Saturday, but his representatives revealed that the Spaniard is not yet ready to decide. But on Monday, Nadal revealed the unfortunate development.

"I am sure you understand that it is a very tough moment for me since it is a tournament I love and where I have great memories from fans, the night matches, so many things," Nadal said. "Not much more I can do right now, other than accept the situation and, as always in my case, work hard in order to be able to compete at the highest level once I am back."

Nadal, who also missed the 2012 U.S. Open because of a knee injury, has not played since suffering an early exit in the 2014 Wimbledon where he lost to Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round of the tournament.

With Nadal out of this year's tournament, Djokovic, the current world No. 1, will be a heavy favorite to win the title along with Roger Federer, who has been performing well as of late.

Federer, a five-time U.S. Open champion, recently won the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati where he defeated David Ferrer 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the title match.

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