Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon and Tokyo Olympics

Rafael Nadal has announced he is pulling out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics.

In a statement posted on his official Twitter page, the 20-time grand slam champion said: “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.”

The goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy: to compete at the highest level and keep fighting for those professional and personal goals at the maximum level of competition.

“The fact that there has only been 2 weeks between RG [Roland Garros] 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,” added Nadal.

Nadal’s last outing on a tennis court was a semifinal defeat to Novak Djokovic at the this month’s French Open — only his third ever defeat on the Parisian clay.

Wimbledon is scheduled to run from 28 June to 11 July, with the Tokyo Olympics poised to be staged from 23 July to 8 August.