Picture : rolandgarros /Twitter
Superstar Spaniard Rafael Nadal, a two-time champion at the All England Club, announced via a series of social media posts that he would also miss the Tokyo Olympics to rest and recover after listening to my body. The goal, the 35-year-old Spaniard said, is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy.
The Olympic Games always meant a lot and they were always a priority as a Sports person, I found the spirit that every sports person in the world wants to live. I personally had the chance to live 3 of them and had the honor to be the flag bearer for my country.“
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021
Sport prevention of any kind of excess in my body is a very important factor at this stage of my career in order to try to keep fighting for the highest level of competition and titles.
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021
Nadal lost to Novak Djokovic in four grueling sets that lasted more than four hours in the semifinals of the French Open last week just the third loss for Nadal in 108 career matches at Roland Garros, where he has won a record 13 championships.
The fact that there has only been 2 weeks between RG 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.
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021
That defeat ended Nadal’s 35-match winning streak at the clay-court major tournament and his bid for a fifth consecutive title there.
Nadal is tied with Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam titles won by a man with 20; Djokovic went on to win the French Open on Sunday for his 19th major.
Nadal’s Slam total includes trophies at Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010. He also owns two Olympic gold medals, in singles at the 2008 Beijing Games and in doubles with Marc Lopez at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, where Nadal was Spain’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
In 2012, Nadal pulled out of the London Olympics and the U.S. Open because of knee tendinitis.
Nadal said having only two weeks between the end of the French Open and the start of Wimbledon this year normally there are three, but play in Paris was delayed a week because of COVID-19 concerns didn’t make it easier for him to recover from the always demanding clay-court season.
After the loss to Djokovic at Roland Garros, Nadal pointed to fatigue as an issue for him in the later stages of that match.
On Thursday, he explained in one his tweets that avoiding any kind of excess wear and tear on his body is a very important factor at this stage of my career in order to try to keep fighting for the highest level of competition and titles.
A former No. 1-ranked player who currently is No. 3, Nadal is 23-4 with two titles this season in Barcelona and Rome, both on clay courts.
