Goffin pulls the plug on his 2018 season

David Goffin, who had already withdrawn from the ongoing Japan Open and from next week’s Shanghai Rolex Masters, has announced that his season is over due to an elbow injury.

“As you already know I had to withdraw from Tokyo and Shanghai due to a right elbow injury,” Goffin posted on social media. “This pain appeared a few months ago and it has worsened recently. I have now more informations about this injury which is a bone edema. I need at least one month to recover so I am sad to announce that I have to put an end to my season…

“I am very disappointed not to be able to compete in the next few tournaments. I apologize to all the tournament directors and to all my fans. I will keep you all updated on my progress. I need to get some rest and treat myself properly in the hope of starting my preparation for (the) next season as soon as possible.”

Despite struggling with various physical problems throughout the year, the 11th-ranked Belgian was still in distant Nitto ATP Finals contention at No. 12 in the 2018 race. He reached the fourth round at Roland Garros and the U.S. Open, advanced to the Washington, D.C. quarterfinals, and made a run to the Cincinnati semis.

Goffin’s absence means three of the four semifinalists from the 2017 year-end championship will likely miss the London festivities this time around. Grigor Dimitrov–who won the tournament last fall–is 17th in the race, while Jack Sock has been hopeless in singles this season and registers at an unbelievable 165th. Roger Federer, who lost to Goffin in the semis, has already clinched a return trip.