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Tennis: Rafael Nadal does without Wimbledon and the Olympic Games

2021-06-20T22:54:14.619Z


He listened to his body, said Rafael Nadal: After "two months of great effort," the Spaniard is giving up Wimbledon and the Olympics. But he is not yet thinking of an end to his career.


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Rafael Nadal at the French Open

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Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

The 20-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal will not take part in the All England Championships at Wimbledon this year - and will also not start at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The Spaniard gave his health problems as the reason.

"It's not an easy decision, but after listening to my body and talking to my team about it, I understand it's the right decision," he shared on Twitter.

Nadal failed in the semi-finals of the French Open last Friday at the eventual tournament winner Novak Djokovic.

That was the end of "two months of great effort" for him, said Nadal.

The fact that this time there was only a two-week break until Wimbledon because of the postponement of Roland Garros did not "make it easier for his body to recover after the always demanding clay court season."

Nadal had won the tournaments in Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010.

No end of career yet

Above all, Nadal regretted his decision not to attend the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

They "always meant a lot" to him and enjoyed "priority" in his sporting life.

He always found the "spirit that every athlete in the world would like to live".

Nadal took part in three Olympic Games: in 2008 he won gold in singles in Beijing, in 2014 in Rio de Janeiro he carried the Spanish flag at the opening ceremony, "an honor", as he wrote.

However, the 35-year-old is not thinking of an end to his career.

His decision to forego Wimbledon and the Olympics should be seen in the "medium and long-term".

It is rather his "goal to extend my career and continue to do what makes me happy, namely to compete at the highest level and continue to fight at the highest level for these professional and personal goals."

ara / sid

Source: spiegel

All sports articles on 2021-06-20

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