Spain’s Rafael Nadal, a 20-time Grand Slam winner, has withdrawn from the upcoming Wimbledon Championship and the Tokyo Olympics. Nadal announced his decision on Twitter on Thursday.
Nadal had won the men’s singles Gold medal in 2008 in Beijing and the men’s doubles Gold in 2016 in Rio.
“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,” said the two-time Wimbledon winner.
“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 said the it was the lack of time between tournaments that forced him into the decision. This year, there are only 2 weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon instead of the usual three. Wimbledon is scheduled to be played from 28 June to 11 July, with the Tokyo Olympics poised to be staged from 23 July to 8 August.
“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.”
Recently, Nadal’s 2021 French Open campaign came to an end in the semis against Novak Djokovic in a four-set thriller. The Serb, who is also the World Number 1, went on to clinch the title.
If Djokovic retains his Wimbledon title, it will move him level with the record shared by Nadal and Roger Federer with 20 men's major singles titles.
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