Looks like Rafael Nadal won't make it to Flushing Meadows after all. The three-time US Open champion announced today that he will not be returning in September to defend his title.

Nadal's withdrawal marks on the fourth time in the Open-era that the defending champion will not compete for the title.

The Spanish tennis star has been recently recovering from an injury to his right wrist. Photos that the athlete posted to his Facebook page of practicing while wearing a splint suggest that he had been aiming for a US Open 2014 return.

However, in a Facebook statement on Monday, Nadal wrote:

"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 3 consecutive finals in my last participations. 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... 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."

According to Fox Sports, 28-year-old Nadal injured his wrist on July 29 as he practiced for the North American hard-court circuit while in his hometown of Mallorca, Spain.

After winning the 2014 French Open title earlier this year, the 14-time Grand Slam champion was forced to miss the Toronto and Cincinnati Masters 1000 tournaments leading up to the US Open. Nadal is currently ranked # 2 in the world, although that ranking is expected to drop in the near future.  

Again, Nadal is only the fourth man to have won the US Open one year and withdrawn from competition the next.

The others include Ken Rosewall in 1971, Pete Sampras in 2003, and Juan Martin del Potro in 2010. 

This year two active former champions will be unable to participate in the 2014 tournament.

Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 victor, is also out of commission after having wrist surgery in March. The 25-year-old from Argentina is currently ranked 11^th, although he has been sidelined since March due to his injury.

The former title-holding contenders for this year's Open are Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Lleyton Hewitt.