PremiumRafael Nadal explains he’s skipping Wimbledon and eyeing Olympic glory in Paris
Tennis great Rafael Nadal took to social media to detail why he won’t be on the grass court in what is likely his farewell season
Last Updated: 08.30 PM, Jun 13, 2024
The third Grand Slam of the year and one of the most prestigious events of the tennis calendar, the Wimbledon Championship is set to begin on July 1 and go on till July 14. By the looks of it, the 2024 edition of Wimbledon will not have some of the sport’s greatest players in action. Former World No.1 Novak Djokovic is still in recovery after surgery on a torn knee meniscus and looks unlikely to be 100% fit for the grass court tournament, and now, Rafael Nadal, who is believed to be on his farewell season has also said that he won’t make it to London.
Nadal on skipping Wimbledon
In a long social media post, Nadal explained why he has chosen not to participate in Wimbledon. Nadal, who crashed out of the French Open in his first-round match against eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev has been focusing all his practice on clay courts, considering that the tennis bit of the Paris Olympics will be held at Roland Garros. Paris 2024 will be Nadal’s last Olympics, where he will partner with Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s doubles event.
“With this goal, we believe that the best for my body is not to change the surface to keep playing on clay until then. It’s for this reason that I will miss playing at the Championships this year at Wimbledon,” Nadal wrote, adding that he is saddened that he will not experience the great atmosphere of the London event. Nadal last played at Wimbledon in 2022, when he had to withdraw from the tournament at the quarter-final stage, following an abdominal injury.
Nadal, who was out of action for more than a year, owing to a hip injury, had an early exit at the Italian Open too, which is a clay-court ATP Masters event. He added that in preparation for the Olympic Games, he will play a tournament in Bastad, Sweden, which he has been to earlier in his career.