Rafael Nadal on Thursday announced that he will not be taking part in both Wimbledon 2021 and the Tokyo Olympics later this year.
Follow Us
Rafael Nadal on Thursday announced that he will not be taking part in both Wimbledon 2021 and the Tokto 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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
The decision comes as little surprise to most fans. He had hinted at not knowing what the future held for him after his French Open semi-final loss.
“I will not play the Mallorca Championships. I am the age that I am. And I would love to play in front of the spectators at home but there is no choice.
“The first reason is because I never play in the week before a Grand Slam. I also don’t feel ready to start training on grass in three days. It is unsustainable.”
When asked about playing at Wimbledon, which starts on June 28, this year, he was coy. “I don’t know what I’ll do in my future.
“After two intense months in a positive gravel season without having achieved the final goal, I have managed to win two titles.
“The body after so much struggle usually suffers a slump. Wimbledon this year is in two weeks. It’s different from when I was 25 years old. I am 35 and you have to see how I recover in every way.
“I need to digest it all, be calm, take a few days off and go home. We have been locked up in Paris for two and a half weeks.
“I need to breathe a little and enjoy the good weather in Mallorca. What is going to happen is of little importance.”
The absence of Rafael Nadal will be a massive blow for Wimbledon. The 20-time Grand Slam winner is one of the biggest stars of world tennis and has won the Wimbledon title twice.
He is also level with Roger Federer on Grand Slam wins and would like to edge ahead in the count sooner rather than later.
However, Djokovic is not far behind from the two and has also done what only two men before him could do – beat Nadal on clay. Afterwards, he compared the feat to climbing Mount Everest.
“It’s hard to find words bigger than all the superlatives you can think of for Rafa’s achievements (at) Roland Garros. He has been the most dominant player of Roland Garros history.
“He lost (here) two, now three times, in his entire career. He’s been playing here almost 20 years. That achievement speaks for itself.
“The amount of wins that he has made on this court is incredible. Each time you step on the court with him, you know that you have to climb Mount Everest to win against this guy here.”
The Olympics, already under fire at home and abroad, will also be hit by Nadal’s absence.
