Rafael Nadal will not play at the grass classic at Wimbledon and has also canceled his participation in the Olympics. The 35-year-old announced his waiver just under a week after the semi-finals at the French Open on Thursday. The decision was not easy for him, said the Spaniard.
The former world number one justified his cancellation of the third Grand Slam tournament of the season, which begins on June 28 in Wimbledon, with the only two-week break after the French Open. That doesn’t leave him enough time to relax after the exhausting clay court season. “I listened to my body and after talking to my team it was the right decision,” said two-time Wimbledon winner Nadal on Twitter.
The Mallorcan said that he wanted to rule out any risk to his further career by giving up. Nadal has recently shown himself proud of the fact that he has been on the professional tour for so long and so successfully despite his exhausting game.
Most recently, Nadal had only lost for the third time, in addition to 105 individual victories, prematurely in Roland Garros. The 13-time French Open champion was defeated by the eventual tournament winner Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Nadal holds 20 major victories as does Roger Federer, Djokovic now 19.
Olympics more important this year
Nadal triumphed at Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010, at the Olympics he won gold in singles in 2008 and doubles in 2016. The Olympic Games meant a lot to him and always had a priority for him as an athlete, wrote the Spaniard. “I found the atmosphere that every athlete should feel at least once,” explained Nadal. “I had the chance to see matches three times and I was honored to carry the flag for my country once,” recalled Nadal. The upcoming games in Tokyo are subject to strict restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
