Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics

"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," he said on Twitter.

Published : Jun 17, 2021 17:04 IST

Nadal waves to the crowd after losing to Djokovic in the semifinal. It was only his third defeat at Roland Garros.
Nadal waves to the crowd after losing to Djokovic in the semifinal. It was only his third defeat at Roland Garros.
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Nadal waves to the crowd after losing to Djokovic in the semifinal. It was only his third defeat at Roland Garros.

Rafael Nadal has pulled out of this year's Wimbledon and Olympics. "Hi all, I have decided not to participate in 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 discussing it with my team, I understand that it is the right decision," he said on Twitter .

"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 the maximum level of competition.

 

The fact that there have 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 on 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.

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I want to send a special message to my fans around the world, to those in the United Kingdom and Japan in particular.

The Olympic Games always meant a lot and they were always a priority as a sportsperson. I found the spirit that every sportsperson in the world wants to live. I personally had the chance to live 3 of them and had the honour to be the flag bearer for my country."

The 20-time Grand Slam champion won the Wimbledon titles in 2008 and 2010. Last week, Novak Djokovic stopped Nadal’s bid for a 14th French Open title and handed the King of Clay just his third loss in 108 matches at the tournament by coming back to win their thriller of a semifinal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

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