Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon and Tokyo Olympics

The 35-year-old will not play in these tournaments due to injury concerns.

20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has revealed that he is pulling out of this year's Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. He addressed fans through a series of tweets explaining the reason for his decision. 

"Hi all, I have decided not to participate in this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. 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," Rafael Nadal 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 Spaniard is not getting any younger. Considering that there is only a two-week break between Roland Garros and Wimbledon, he felt this was the right decision. Rafael Nadal wants his body to give time to recover from a gruelling clay court season. 

He remarked, "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 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."

Lastly, the Tennis legend sent his thanks to his fans in the United Kingdom and also in Japan. He also shared how the Tokyo Olympics is an important event for every sportsperson and how he has had that experience thrice, once being the flag-bearer for Spain. 

"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 Sports person, I found the spirit that every sports person in the world wants to live. I personally had the chance to live 3 of them and had the honor to be the flag bearer for my country," he concluded. 

The 'King of Clay' recently suffered a defeat at Roland Garros against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. It was a gruelling encounter as both the players showcased class, grit and determination. It was one of those matches which would go down in the history books. 

While Rafael Nadal gave a decent account of himself in that semifinal clash against Djokovic, he was nowhere near his actual best. The Spaniard made several unforced errors which allowed the Serb to take advantage of the situation. That resulted in a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 comeback win for Djokovic who eventually clinched his 19th Grand Slam. 

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