Nadal pulls out of Rotterdam Open with back issue

World No 2 Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week's Rotterdam Open due to a back injury, the Spaniard said on Thursday.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner has been struggling with a back issue since the build-up to the Australian Open and was forced to skip Spain's ATP Cup ties earlier this month.

"It is with great sadness that I have to forfeit from Rotterdam," Nadal said in a statement.

As most of the fans know, I suffered some back problems in Australia that started in Adelaide and continued during Melbourne. We found a temporary solution that allowed me to play without pain in the second week of the tournament.

"Once I got back to Spain I visited my doctor and together with my team they’ve advised not to play this upcoming week."

Nadal has not played in Rotterdam since 2009, and world No 3 Daniil Medvedev will replace him as the top seed at tournament, which will run from 1-7 March.

Despite the injury, Nadal did not drop a set at the Australian Open until the quarterfinals, where he was knocked out by Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas last week.