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20-time grand slam men’s tennis champion Rafael Nadal announced on social media on Thursday that he will not be playing at Wimbledon or the 2021 Summer Olympic Games after “listening to his body.” Nadal added that he wants to prolong his career and continue to compete at the highest level.
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 35-year-old Nadal recently just finished playing at the Roland-Garros French Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in an epic semifinal that went 4 hours and 11 minutes. He also mentioned on Twitter that with it only being two weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon, it “didn’t make easy on his body to recuperate after the always demanding clay court season.”
With Nadal not participating in Wimbledon, he’ll be replaced by Stefanos Tsitsipas as the third seed on the men’s side. As for the Olympics, he would’ve been trying for his second gold medal in singles after winning it in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He also has one gold medal on his resume in doubles, winning it in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.