Official reveals extent of Nadal's latest heartbreak

One of the leading organisers of the Mexican Open has revealed details of Rafael Nadal's heartbreaking injury withdrawal from the tournament.

The World No.2 pulled out of the tournament earlier in the week, cutting short his comeback from a hip injury when the problem flared up again.

It's the fifth straight tournament that Spaniard has pulled out of.

According to the owner and president of Grupo Pegaso, who are the organisers of the Mexican Open, Nadal was inconsolable after his latest injury nightmare.

"I talked to Nadal and he was crying in his villa for two hours," Alejandro Burillo said.

"He could not play because of his injury, but he will recover to return in the following tournaments because the fans are looking for him."

The 31-year-old Spaniard was visibly downcast as he discussed his protracted injury problems after withdrawing from the Mexican tournament.

"My goal and hope was to play in this tournament," Nadal said at a press conference.

"Unfortunately, in my last training session yesterday, I felt a sharp pain in my leg again."

Nadal, favoured to win the tournament, had been due to face fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

"In my last training session before the tournament, during one movement I felt a sharp pain again in the same area where I had the problem in Australia."

"I took all the appropriate steps to arrive at the tournament in form. I went to Cozumel first, to adapt (to the climate)," he told reporters.

He is unsure if he will play at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters tournaments in March.

Nadal limped out of the quarter-finals at the Australian Open on January 23, and he has since lost his No.1 ranking to Roger Federer.

The 2017 Roland Garros and US Open champion said doctors in Mexico warned him not to play for fear of aggravating the injury.

"I still don't know what it is, because we don't know. It seems it's not as bad as what I had at the Australian Open," he said.

"Now, my main goal is to find out the extent of the injury."

This marks the fifth tournament in a row that Nadal has pulled out of or retired from - the Australian Open, Brisbane, London, Paris and Acapulco.

With agencies