Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal announced on his Twitter account that he would not participate in Wimbledon, the next major world tennis tournament which will take place in London from June 28 to July 11.
He also gave up on the Tokyo Olympics.
They will take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021.
Rafael Nadal announced Thursday on social networks that he was giving up participating in the next Wimbledon tournament (June 28-July 11) as well as the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8) in order to "let his body recover" .
"The goal is to extend my career and continue to do what makes me happy, which is to play at the highest level," writes the 35-year-old, Olympic champion in singles in 2008 and in doubles. in 2016, winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, and who lost last Friday in the semi-final of Roland-Garros against the future winner Novak Djokovic.
A "prevention of any form of excess in my body"
The Spaniard does not specifically indicate in his communication whether he suffers from an injury, but refers to the close schedules between Roland Garros and Wimbledon to justify his absence from the London grass tournament which he won twice (2008 and 2010). “It has just passed two months of great effort and the decision that I take in the medium and long term. Preventing any form 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 ".
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
Regular knee injuries
Nadal has suffered in recent seasons from knee injuries which have sometimes kept him away from the field for a long time.
The Spaniard had already had to withdraw from the London Games in 2012, due to a knee problem.
He was the flag bearer of the Spanish delegation during the last Rio Olympics in 2016.
In his message Thursday, Nadal greets his fans in England and Japan and recalls that the Games "have always been a priority for (him) as an athlete, finding a state of mind that every athlete in the world hopes to live".