Rafael Nadal, the 20-time Grand Slam winner, on Thursday decided not to participate in the upcoming Wimbledon Championships, starting on June 28, and Tokyo Olympics, which is set to begin from July 23.
The 35-year-old announced his decision on Twitter.
“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.”
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.
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021
“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.
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021
Nadal made it to the semi-finals in the recently concluded French Open in Paris, losing to eventual winner Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 2-6 last week.