Rafael Nadal has bowed out of Wimbledon and the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, explaining Thursday that he made the decision “after listening to my body” and discussing the matter with his advisers.
Nadal, 35, shared his decision via Twitter on Thursday morning, writing: “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 [sic] it with my team I understand that it is the right decision.”
His withdrawal from Wimbledon, where he is a two-time champion, helps clear Djokovic’s path for equaling the 20 majors that Nadal shares with Roger Federer. If he does so, Djokovic would stand alone in men’s tennis history with a victory at the U.S. Open, the season’s final major, in September.
The 34-year-old Djokovic confirmed after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas to claim his 19th major at the French Open on Sunday that his goal for 2021 is completing a Golden Slam, which consists of sweeping all four majors in a calendar year and winning singles gold at the Olympics. Only one player in tennis history has achieved that feat — Steffi Graf, in 1988.
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
A master of clay, Nadal adapted his game to better suit grass courts with the goal of winning Wimbledon in mind in his early 20s. He did so in 2008, defeating Federer in a five-set final that many feel is among the greatest ever played, and in 2010, when he beat Tomas Berdych in straight sets.
Djokovic is a five-time Wimbledon champion who has won the grass-court classic’s past two titles. But this year, the turnaround time between the French and Wimbledon will be particularly difficult, given the compressed timetable.
The recent French Open was delayed one week to allow more fans to attend under the country’s schedule for easing pandemic protocols. As a result, Wimbledon, which wasn’t held in 2020, will start two weeks after the French rather than three. The first round gets underway June 28 at the All England Club.
Tennis at the Tokyo Olympics will be contested on hard courts, which is particularly punishing on the body, amid strict pandemic protocols. Nadal, who won the gold medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had never officially committed to taking part in the rescheduled Tokyo Games but said he was weighing the decision.
Nadal acknowledged after his semifinal loss at Roland Garros that the four-hour, 11-minute match took a toll, saying: “It’s true, there [were] some crazy points. The fatigue is there, too, no?”
He took a commanding early lead, but Djokovic, after taking an extended break, returned to the court to win an epic third set settled by a tiebreak and closed the match 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, looking the fresher man both physically and mentally.
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