Rafael Nadal to Skip Wimbledon, Olympics to Prolong Career

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Rafael Nadal said he won’t participate in Wimbledon or the Tokyo Olympic Games in an effort to prolong his tennis career.

Nadal cited a compressed schedule with Wimbledon starting two weeks after the French Open finished up. The Spaniard fell in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic, who went on to win the major.

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