adminbeen advised to rest while he recovers from a fever caused by a stomach infection.
The 26-year-old Spaniard, who has been out of action with tendonitis in his left knee since Wimbledon, had been due to play in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi today.
Nadal has won 11 Grand Slam events.
After suffering a shock second-round loss at Wimbledon to then 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol, Nadal pulled out of both London 2012 and the US Open because of the injury.
“I am very disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year in Abu Dhabi,” the world number four said in a statement.
“My rehab has gone well, my knee feels good and I was looking forward to competing. Unfortunately doctors have informed me that my body needs to rest in order to fight this stomach virus.
“I would like to say sorry to all my fans in the United Arab Emirates and around the world, but I hope to play and win in Abu Dhabi again next year.”
The event still features the world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic as well as four other top-10 players — Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Janko Tipsarevic and Tomas Berdych.
Nadal is now expected to return at the Qatar Open, which starts on December 31.
The first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open, is due to begin in Melbourne on January 14.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray’s mother Judy says her son can enjoy even more success in 2013, and has praised the impact that coach Ivan Lendl has had on his career.
Murray enjoyed his best year in tennis, winning Olympic gold before lifting his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open, and was runner-up at Wimbledon.
“It’s been a significant year for him,” Judy Murray told the BBC.
“It’s given him a lot of confidence. He’s worked even harder than before to go after another Slam in Australia.”
The 25-year-old joined forces with eight-time major winner Lendl 12 months ago and the partnership has been a huge success, as Murray threatens to reach the top of the world rankings.
“He’s been a crucial factor in Andy’s improvement and success this year,” said Judy.
“The wonderful thing about Ivan is that he’s very similar in character to Andy, not least they have the same awful sense of humour! But seriously, he’s very driven, very dedicated and he absolutely has his eyes on the prize.
“He knows what you have to go after and he knows that you have to be very single minded about going after it.
“He’s got a real sense of direction, a real toughness and he’s really helped Andy with the mental side of the game, about being able to reset if you suffer a disappointment, a bad call or a run of bad games. That’s allowed him to play his best tennis for much longer periods of time.”
Murray, from Dunblane, recently finished third in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award and has been in Miami for his annual pre-season training camp, but will take a short break before flying east.
“He’s come home for Christmas for a couple of days for the first time in about four years. He leaves on Christmas night to go to Abu Dhabi to play in an exhibition event and then on to Brisbane for the warm-up tournament before the Australian Open,” his mother explained.
And Judy, who captains Great Britain’s Fed Cup team, feels there is a crop of young Scottish players ready to step onto the world stage.
Maia Lumsden, a 14-year-old from Glasgow, beat fellow Briton Gaby Taylor, from Hampshire, in the final of the Orange Bowl event, considered one of the most prestigious in the world junior game.
The Fed Cup skipper added: “Anna Brogan is the best girl in Britain in the 1997 age group. Maia is the best born in 1998. For 1999 there’s Anastasia Mikheeva who’s the number two in Britain. And born in 2000, there’s Ali Collins from Dunblane who’s the British number one under 12.
“There’s a bright future ahead for British girls’ tennis if we can get the next stage of the players’ development right.” — BBC Sport.
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