Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal will skip Wimbledon to deal with the Paris Olympics, choosing a clay-court event in Bastad, Sweden, which he final attended 19 years in the past.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who turned 38 on June 3, introduced Thursday that he prefers to remain on clay moderately than swap to grass for the All England Club earlier than returning to clay for the Summer Games.
“We believe that the best for my body is not to change surface,” Nadal stated in an announcement.
He has been coping with hip and belly accidents over the previous 1 1/2 years, together with having surgical procedure in 2023, and has been pressured to play a restricted schedule. Nadal was defeated within the first spherical of the French Open late final month by eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev – marking the primary time in Nadal’s profession he has misplaced consecutive matches on clay.
The Summer Games will maintain the tennis competitors at Roland Garros beginning on July 27. That is the positioning of the French Open, the place Nadal has received a file 14 titles.
Nadal will play doubles – with Carlos Alcaraz – and singles on the Olympics, Spanish males’s tennis captain David Ferrer stated Wednesday. Alcaraz, 21, received the French Open on Sunday for his third Grand Slam title. He is the youngest man to personal main championships on all three surfaces.
After his exit towards Zverev in Paris, Nadal was requested about taking part at Wimbledon, which runs from July 1-14.
“Looks difficult, honestly. For me, now, I can’t confirm what’s going on, but it looks difficult to make a transition to grass, having the Olympics again on clay,” he stated.
“But I don’t think it’s going to be smart, after all the things that happened to my body,” Nadal continued, “(to) now make a big transition to a completely different surface and then come back immediately to clay.”
He received two titles at Wimbledon, beating Roger Federer within the 2008 last and Tomas Berdych within the 2010 last. Nadal additionally was the runner-up there 3 times and exited after reaching the semifinals in every of his previous three appearances, together with his final journey to the All England Club, in 2022, when he withdrew from the ultimate 4 due to a torn belly muscle.
“I will miss playing at the Championships this year at Wimbledon. I am saddened not to be able to live this year the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart,” Nadal stated Thursday, “and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all.”
This can be his fourth look at Bastad – a clay-court event that begins July 15 – and first since 2005. Nadal received the trophy there that yr, beating Berdych within the last.
Source: www.dailysabah.com