NEW DELHI:
Rafael Nadal
on Thursday confirmed that he will skip Wimbledon this July to focus on preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris.
The Olympics will take place on the clay courts at Roland Garros.
Nadal, holder of a record 14 French Open titles, has struggled with form after his return from multiple injuries.
The Spainard was defeated in the first round of this year's French Open in straight sets by Alexander Zverev, who went on to be the runner-up.
The 38-year-old was sidelined for most of 2023 due to a hip injury. His comeback efforts were hampered by a muscle tear, followed by smaller injuries that affected his readiness for the major claycourt tournament.
"During my post match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practising on clay. It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics," Reuters quoted Nadal as saying.
"With this goal, we believe that the best for my body is not to change surface and keep playing on clay until then. It's for this reason that 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, and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all."
Nadal, who won Olympic singles gold in 2008 and doubles gold in 2016, will partner with the newly-crowned French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz to compete in the doubles event at the Olympics.
Nadal has previously won Wimbledon twice. He plans to continue his Olympic preparations by participating in the ATP 250 claycourt event in Bastad, Sweden, starting on July 15.
The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11.
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