Rafael Nadal has announced that he will not be competing in the ATP World Tour Finals next month in order to undergo appendix surgery.
The world number three has been suffering from appendicitis in recent weeks, but had been hoping to delay surgery until the end of the season.
After losing to 17-year-old Borna Coric at the Swiss Indoors in Basel earlier today, the Spaniard told Sky Sports News: "I'm not going to Paris and London. I'm not competitive enough. I am going to have surgery on November 3.
"I need to work on my back a lot. Since Australia I'm not 100% recovered. That needs time and a period of five weeks to work hard again.
"I need to try to fix all the things that bother me. I'm going to work for one month in December and I will be back at the start of 2015."
Nadal's withdrawal from the event means that the player ranked ninth in the race will take part in the tournament.
Sian Cowper
