Tennis star Rafael Nadal announced Thursday morning on social media that he will not be playing in both this year’s Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics.
In a thread on Twitter, the 35-year-old Nadal explained the rigors of the tennis schedule following the French Open and how, at this stage of his career, what efforts the 20-time Grand Slam champion has to take to maintain care of his body.
Recommended Videos
“The fact that there has only been 2 weeks between RG (the French Open) and Wimbledon, didn’t make it easier on my body to recuperate after the always demanding clay court season,” Nadal tweeted. “They have been two months of great effort and the decision I take is focused looking at the mid and long term.
“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.”
Nadal won men’s singles tennis gold in 2008 in Beijing and won gold again in men’s doubles for tennis in 2016, when he was the flag bearer for Spain in the opening ceremony. He is a two-time winner of Wimbledon amongst his 20 Grand Slam titles. Nadal is coming off a French Open where he advanced to last week’s semifinal before falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
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
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
I want to send a special message to my fans around the world, to those in the United Kingdom and Japan in particular.
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021
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.“
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021
What do you think of the move for Nadal? Let us know in the comments.