Rafael Nadal Out of Wimbledon and Olympics

A depleted Rafael Nadal has pulled out of this month’s Wimbledon and next month’s Tokyo Olympic Games.

The 35-year-old Spaniard announced on Twitter he will opt out of The Championships and the Olympics.

Thirteen-time Roland Garros champion Nadal lost to rival Novak Djokovic in an epic four hour, 11-minute French Open semifinal last Friday. Nadal said his decision to miss the grass-court Grand Slam and the Olympics came down to listening to his body and his desire to prolong his career.

“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 person goals at the maximum level of competition,” Nadal said. “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.”

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

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021

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.

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021

Nadal is a two-time Olympic gold-medal champion. The left-hander won the 2008 gold medal in singles at the Beijing Olympic Games. Nadal did not defend his singles gold medal in 2012, but in 2016 he partnered good friend Marc Lopez to capture the Olympic gold medal at the Rio Olympic Games.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Nadal has reached the semifinals at SW19 in each of his last two appearances.

The Spaniard’s decision to skip Wimbledon and the Olympics will give Nadal more than two months of training time ahead of the US Open. Nadal won the 2019 US Open title, but did not compete in Flushing Meadows last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.