On Thursday, it became known that tennis star Rafael Nadal will not compete in either the Wimbledon tournament or the Olympic Games after he himself announced his decision not to take part in those events.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion released a statement in which he acknowledged that he needs time to “recuperate after a long clay court season”.
“It’s never an easy decision but after listening to my body and discussing it with my team I understand that it is the right decision, the goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy,” said the Manacor native.
“That is to compete at the highest level and keep fighting for those professional and personal goals at the maximum level of competition,” added Nadal, who has won Wilmbledon twice (in 2008 and 2010).
On the other hand, the 35-year-old did make a sly complaint about the ATP tour schedule: “The fact that there has only been two weeks between Roland Garros and Wimbledon didn’t make it easier on my body to recuperate after the always demanding clay-court season,” he said.
Nadal emphasised that the decision he took “is focused looking at the mid and long term.”
Thus, defending Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has a slightly clearer path to glory in the UK.
