Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon and Olympic Games

Rafael Nadal has pulled out of both Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who was knocked out in the semi-finals of the French Open by Novak Djokovic, made the decision to miss the two big events this summer on Thursday.

Nadal has been curtailed by knee issues throughout his career and said the reasoning for his decision was to help “prolong my career”.

His next Major event is likely to be the US Open at the end of August.

In a lengthy statement on social media, the two-time Wimbledon champion said: “I have decided not to participate at this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It’s never an easy decision to take but, after listening to my body and discussing 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, that is 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 two weeks between 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.

“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.”

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