For the first time in 17 years, Rafael Nadal has failed to make the cut for the ATP Finals

Rafael Nadal has fallen short of the qualification cut-off for the season-ending ATP Finals, which is the first such instance in 18 years. The last time the Spaniard failed to qualify for the season-ending tournament was back in 2004, when he was just starting out on the tour.

Nadal currently stands at 2,985 points in the ATP Race to Turin, which puts him in ninth position. Both Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner have overtaken the Spaniard after their showing at this week's Vienna Open. Since Nadal won't be playing any more events this year, he cannot regain his place in the top eight again.

A large part of the reason why Rafael Nadal has failed to qualify this year is injury; he has played only one tournament since the end of the French Open. Even if Nadal had finished in the top eight of the Race to Turin, he wouldn't have played the ATP Finals as he is still nursing his chronic foot injury.

Explaining his decision to end his 2021 season early, the 35-year-old clarified last month that he would return to the court when his body was in the right condition. Nadal also revealed he was following an elaborate plan to ensure he was on track to recovery from his injury.

"I want to recover from the injury to return in top condition," Nadal said at a recent press conference. "I don't know when I'll play again, I work a lot every day, I follow a specific plan, obviously with a marked road map and very clear objectives."

It is pertinent to note that Rafael Nadal has skipped the ATP Finals numerous times, even though he has qualified in each of the last 16 years. Nadal missed the season-ending event in 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 due to injury, and in 2017 he withdrew after playing just one match.

But 2021 is different from those years, given that the Spaniard hasn't even made the qualifying cut this time.

The Race to the ATP Finals is heating up, even if Rafael Nadal is not a part of it anymore

Rafael Nadal in preparation for the 2021 Roland Garros in May

As Rafael Nadal moves out of the top eight in the ATP Race, Casper Ruud and Janik Sinner are looking likely to seal the final two spots. Ruud was already ahead of Nadal at the start of the Vienna Open, and by reaching the quarterfinals he has pushed his points tally significantly past the 35-year-old's.

Sinner's win over Ruud in the quarterfinals, meanwhile, ensured he jumped up two positions; the Italian has overtaken both Nadal and Hubert Hurkacz to enter the top eight.

Six players have already qualified for the ATP Finals, in the following order – Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini. The seventh-placed Ruud is 985 points behind Berrettini, making it impossible for anyone to knock out the current top six before start of the ATP Finals.

The upcoming Paris Masters will see Ruud, Sinner, Hurkacz and Cameron Norrie battling it out for the final two spots. The four players are separated by just 230 points combined, and it promises to be a nail-biting fight to the finish.