On the heels of his energy-sapping and painful French Open semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal will miss at least the next six weeks of the summer. Nadal announced on Thursday that he is withdrawing from both Wimbledon and the Olympics.
“Hi all, I have decided not to participate at this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo,” the 35-year-old Spaniard posted on social media. “It’s never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss 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 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. 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.”
Nadal is a two-time Wimbledon champion (2008, 2010) but has not advanced to the final since 2011. This will mark his fourth absence from the All-England Club since he began playing there in 2003–not including the 2020 Covid-19 cancellation.
The current world No. 3 has earned a gold medal in each of his two appearances at the Olympic Games. He won the singles event 13 years ago in Beijing and teamed up with Marc Lopez to capture doubles gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Nadal finished fourth in singles that summer.
“I want to send a special message to my fans around the world, to those in the United Kingdom and Japan in particular,” he continued. “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.”
Nadal hopes to resume his season later in the hard-court summer, culminating at the U.S. Open–a tournament that has suited him better than Wimbledon. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has triumphed in New York in 2010, 2013, 2017, and 2019.
expected
damaged pride or dull hasn’t lost unless injured?
I wonder though, would he still have pulled out if he’d won RG?
He will withdraw from Wimbledon regardless of winning or not at RG, because fatigue will be there more so having to play the final.
He said, that there’s only two weeks between FO and Wimbledon instead of three weeks, and he’s already 35 now. He’s no longer young as in 2008/2010 when he won the channel slams with only two weeks in between.
So far, only Borg and then Rafa and Fed could achieve the channel slams, and all were done during their 20s; I doubt anyone in the 30s age group could achieve it now, we will see.
Interesting, it seems there’s some disagreement as to whether he would’ve withdrawn regardless of the RG result.
Personally I doubt he would’ve withdrawn from both Wimbledon and the Olympics if he’d won RG. Why miss two major events when you’re already on a roll? He surely could’ve at least played the Olympics without too much fatigue – there’s a gap of several weeks. But then, this is just speculation.
i mean we can just look at past history. Has ever missed Wimbledon after winning the French? maybe once at most.
Yes I don’t think he ever has
As I say, I’m surprised, because his last two results at Wimby were semi-finals, both of them competitive losses to Djokovic and Fed. If Djokovic were to get knocked out this year, anything could happen.
Disappointing for the fans, but I suppose it’s the natural downside of playing at 35+ years of age.
Thats an interesting statement, why wouldnt Nole win Wimby? He’s looking a pretty big favourite, though I want Fed to win.
He will NOT withdraw from Wimbledon if he won French. He has never done that before. In 2018, he won the French and then played Wimbledon and pushed Djokovic to 9-7 in d fifth set. This after playing all d clay court tournaments and winning 3 (2 masters and Barcelona) of them before winning the French open. He did d same in 2019 reaching semifinals again in Wimbledon after winning French and playing 4 clay court tournaments.
IMHO, The large part of why he withdrew is bc he lost to Djokovic at the French and his serve is really bad and he hasn’t been playing well all clay season. He is not injured and he said so himself. When he comes back he will be more than rusty and it will take a long time for him to find his form (it has always been like that). So what’s the guarantee that he will win the US open this year. What of if he doesn’t win it. What’s next? Withdraw from Australian open next year, to get himself ready for French open?
I think it’s not a wise decision at all but it’s his decision and I can only hope for the best. I hope he can come back and win the US open this year but with Djoko, medvedev, thiem, tsitsipas, zverev around and they will definitely bring their A game, it will be really difficult.
Happy,
I said this before but will say it again.
I really find it hard to believe it’s just about confidence given he played wimby in 2015 when he was playing far worse and was beaten badly by Djoko. He was losing to everyone all through the clay season in 2015 and it didn’t take a special performance by Djokovic to take him out. But he still played wimby and all other events that year.
There have to be other reasons and underlying factors.
One problem is clearly his fitness which radically declined as a result of lockdown last year. Rafa himself said it had been extremely difficult for him to recover fitness given his previous problems with injuries. And he still is very obviously not as fit as he was before the first lockdown. That’s one of many factors in play. He’s not like Fed who has a big serve to fall back on and has suffered much less with injuries.
Fed doesnt have a particularly big serve but he’s very accurate with it. When it comes to fitness , its much less a factor on grass.
And, since Fed is nearly 40 , he might struggle a bit more than Rafa there if forced to play five setters .
Our WTA Eastbourne entry is corrupted. Weird.
Probably wont make any difference! Its so unpredictable.
It’s back now. A temporary hitch.I see we’ve all gone for Sabalenka.
Dull knows what he is doing, this was premeditated carefully. He is putting all eggs in one basket so he gives himself a good chance to win the 21st GS (he stands 0 chance at W and an Olympics title doesn’t have the same weight as a GS title). He is obsessed with titles yet he is downplaying his real intentions and feelings. He’ll be serving bombs at the USO 21 and his future new, thicker hair should help his physical appeal.
Dull says he is fatigued, that is the official reason for his withdrawal:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1405978024848285710
I am deeply disturbed with this article: https://www.unidivers.fr/jean-pierre-verdy-dopage-ma-guerre-contre-les-tricheurs/
JEAN-PIERRE VERDY talks about his experience testing Nadal for substances. It would be good if authors on this site wrote something about what Jean said in the interview. This is highly controversial what he said. I am worried that tennis is not a clean sport.
You are a troll! Get lost loser with your disgusting trash talk about Rafa! Or else the focus will be on your guy and what he is using!
Nny…I found this article..hope like me,u also will found peace after u read this article..
https://www.ubitennis.net/
Mira,
Thank you so much for that article! I do feel better. They said it was mental and physical fatigue. That explains the dips in the second set, the ups and downs.
I like hearing what Mona has to say. I did not think about the restrictions on the players. That is also mental stress.
Yes, I found peace!
Hearing what Moya has to say!
I see our comments have crossed over nny….
You’re very much welcome Nny!…I knew u always loved to hear Moya’s thought!…
When Rafa 1st came back to tour last year,he talked about how hard his life during pandemic..at that time i had no idea that his situation was really bad!..it also not helping him with restrictions & life in bubbles..Many pIayers complained about it…Benoit Paire & Thiem suffering the worst from it(tho in Thiem’s case,the after effect of winning USO & foot injury also a key factors in having a dip in form)and Rafa never complain about it..i thought he’s dealing & adapting well to it..
I hope Rafa will come back stronger & in much better shape mentally & physically in 2 months time!…Gud luck Rafa!
Oh, I get it now. It only took a second to see Wog Boy on tennis-x asking about the translation of the same article on doping he posted here. No one cares. He will not get anyone to go down that rabbit hole with him here.
So, he is “Djokovic is the Goat”.
RC…Beware of WB ok?He might come here again harassing u…
Yeah, Mira, sad but true. It was a long time ago. He is a knowledgeable tennis poster. Maybe I miss the days when he was nice…uh yeah, I am a bit naive. I don’t hold grudges for years or a lifetime.
Yeah RC…I also respect him very much bcoz of his tennis knowledge & things in general…As far as i remember,he never/rarely talk bad about Rafa on tx…Hope it will continue that way..
Carlos Moya has said that rafa was suffering from mental and physical exhaustion.
He said that 2 years ago Rafa reached a point of great mental fatigue which was very difficult to get out of and that now he has reached a point which was very close to that again.
Well all through Rg I felt he was very out of sorts mentally. This wasn’t 2015 but I have never seen Rafa so nervy and unsure for passages of play in the matches against Norrie, then Sinner, then Diego except in that horrible year.
I actually threw up during Rafa’s match against Diego which is a first. I could feel his tension and it was excruciating. Unlike 2015 he could break out of it for periods of time and then play brilliantly but he couldn’t sustain his level.
In all the 3 matches before the last a voice in my head kept saying very coldly and clearly that he wasn’t going to win RG this year.
I should have gone with my gut and my own intuition.
You can’t go mentally walkabout against a player like Novak and then come back again in the way he suddenly raised his level against Diego. Not now his fitness levels have dropped.
amy,
At least Moya has given us some insight into what is going on with Rafa. That explains the dips in form and how he just did not seem to be mentally present for parts of his matches. He was all over the place. He could play brilliant tennis but was unable to sustain it. That fourth set with Diego was Rafa’s finest set. It was perfection. But he could not replicate it in the match with Novak, except for that first set.
It just helps me a lot to know what is going on. Also the revelation about the strains of playing in this pandemic with all the restrictions placed on the players. We maybe forget that they are human and this is far from normal conditions.
I see Wog Boy has found a new haunt! 🤣🤣🤣
Hello Okiegal! LOL, I thought Wog Boy would be one of these trolls. But he must have an app to assist his grammar, like Grammarly. I’m not sure if “Djokovic is the Goat” is Wog Boy, though. I don’t remember him referring to Rafa as “Dull.” I thought it was a Fedfan that did that.
Hey hey hey big bozzy!!😁
Veryyyyyy nice 2 c u here!!😁….Wazzup?Wazzup?
Well he posted the same link on TX about Doping… it was a French article. Maybe not??? But he said on TX he might go to TG……..
@Mira….Hi Little Bozzy! Not much going on except the rain! Doing OK in Oklahoma!! Hope this finds you in great spirits too.
@RC….Hello to you too! I forgot to greet you on my comment that was in answer to your comment to me! Sorry Sis… I’ll try to fo better in the future!!
@Okiegal,
Hello, you lovely Rafa Fan! Nice to hear from you here. Thanks for calling me “sis” it feels good. xxoo
Hey back big bozzy!…Hmmh!…i knew it!…u must be missing me terribly to chase me here!😆
You are very loved by all who are lucky enough to know you, Mira.
Hahaha…thanks RC!…Miss u too!😃😘
@RC…. I try to speak when spoken to… proper Okie etiquette!! So I hated that I forgot to address my comment to you. Please forgive! Sis, is a popular name for gals around my neck of the woods! Glad you were touched by that!
@Mira…. You’re just a little social butterfly but I finally netted you!
😛😛
@Okiegal,
I wish I had just a teaspoon of your etiquette. Yes, I was touched by “sis” but now I know that I know it is a common figure of speech, perhaps I took it wrong? 🤔 There is nothing to forgive in my neck of the woods 🤗 and politics can’t divide us. I have no family left in life, so I fall for anyone calling me “sis”.
I should have known! Tennis-x posters are coming here to stink up this site!
Calling Rafa “dull” or Nadull is an old one from the haters. I don’t even know if these idiots are even Novak fans. They sound like trolls. Here to stir up trouble.
They better be ready if they want to cause trouble here. Because I can promise them it will not be pretty.
Not me , promise you that, bit of a blip this weekend but Im OK now 😉
@RC….Maybe I need to explain myself better. To call someone Sis, is a very endearing choice of words…… so I don’t throw it out there that much. But a loyal Rafa fan like you gets that special term of endearment! I lost my only sister in 2010. I always need another Sis! 🥰🥰
@RC…. I read my comment over. I should have said Sista is used a lot, but Sis is used when there is closeness between each other. I feel very close to all of my female Rafa fans. I believe this is a much better explanation! So sorry if I confused you…I’m getting old…..😩😩😩
@Okiegal
Thank you for all your kindness! On this site I am known as a Novak Djokovic fan, I hope that doesn’t disappoint you. But I am also a Rafa Fan and hopefully supportive of his fans. Rafa losing in the SF to Nole was devastating to most everyone here. It’s best to walk softly here at this time and give them time and love.
cheers, sista! So good you are here.
@RC….. I’m new here so I haven’t acquainted myself with everyone yet. I am not one bit disappointed that you are a Novak fan. There are sweet fans of every player, and you impressed me as that kind of person. To each his own. We can support whoever we choose to! Your guy is number #1 in the world and kudos to him, Sis! (I’m still calling you Sis) Thanks for the nice welcome!
Yeah, nice to welcome a fellow Nole fan! Ive been one since 2007 and was disappointed he had to pull out of Wimby injured. I still prefer Fed though .
Scrub my last comment to you! We didn’t! Too early in the morning!
What’s happened to the draw?I didn’t pick McHale over andreescu
At least I didn’t have pliskova going far.Was thinking about it as champ