Tennis icon and 24-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal took to social networking platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to announce that he will be withdrawing from the upcoming 2024 Wimbledon Championship.
Rafael Nadal, who recently participated at the recently concluded French Open, revealed that since the 2024 Olympic Games will be played on the clay courts of Roland Garros, he does not want his preparations to be affected by a change in surface.
It’s worth noting that Wimbledon is played on grass courts, in contrast to clay, where Nadal has excelled throughout his illustrious career. The Spaniard has won a record 14 French Open titles, making him a favorite to secure his third Olympic gold medal should he not be affected by fitness issues.
“During my post match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practicing on clay. It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics,” Rafael Nadal wrote on X.
“With this goal, we believe that the best for my body is not to change surfaces and keep playing on clay until then. It’s for this reason that I will miss playing at the Championships this year at Wimbledon. I am saddened not to be able to live this year in the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart, and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all.
“In order to prepare for the Olympic Games, I will play the tournament in Bastad, Sweden. A tournament that I played earlier in my career and where I had a great time both on and off the court. Looking forward to seeing you there. Thank you,” he added.
During my post match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practicing on clay. It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics.
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 13, 2024
Nadal has participated in the Bastad event three times in the past, the most recent being in 2005. He will have a task on his hand, considering that current World No.1 in the Men’s ATP Rankings, Jannik Sinner, is also expected to compete in Bastad.
The 38-year-old’s career off late has been beset with injuries, with his last Grand Slam title win coming in 2022, where he won the Australian Open and the French Open.
The Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) had recently announced that Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will represent Spain in the doubles tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Paris, France.
It will be intriguing to see how Rafael Nadal and Alcaraz combine together on the court, considering the former is an icon of the sport and the latter is widely recognized as the next big thing in tennis.
OKBET is Asia’s most trusted and popular online sports gaming platform. Visit us on OKBET to stay up to date with all sports news from around the world.
