Rafael Nadal has on Thursday, June 17 confirmed he will take no part in Wimbledon or Tokyo Olympics this year, citing the need to ‘prolong’ his career as the reason for his withdrawal.
The two-time Wimbledon champion was knocked out at the semi-final stage of the French Open last week by rival, Novak Djokovic but he says the clay court season has had a draining effect on his body.
Nadal has battled against knee injuries over the last decade and he had hoped to play at SW19 for the first time since 2019, when he reached the semi-finals.
However, the Spaniard says he must take a long-term approach to his career and will not risk injury by playing at Wimbledon.
He expressed;
Hi all, I have decided not to participate at this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It’s never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss it with my team I understand that it is the right decision.
The goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy, that is to compete at the highest level and keep fighting for those professional and personal goals at he maximum level of competition.
Nadal added;
The fact that there has only been 2 weeks between RG and Wimbledon, didn’t make it easier on my body to recuperate after the always demanding clay court season. They have been two months of great effort and the decision I take is focused looking at the mid and long term.
Sport prevention of any kind of excess in my body is a very important factor at this stage of my career in order to try to keep fighting for the highest level of competition and titles.I want to send a special message to my fans around the world, to those in the United Kingdom and Japan in particular.
He stressed;
The Olympic Games always meant a lot and they were always a priority as a Sports person, I found the spirit that every sports person in the world wants to live. I personally had the chance to live 3 of them and had the honor to be the flag bearer for my country.’
