(Paris) The Spaniard Rafael Nadal announced Thursday on his X account that he was withdrawing from the Grand Slam tournament on grass at Wimbledon (1er-July 14), in order to better prepare for the tennis tournament of the Paris Olympic Games.
“It was announced yesterday that I will compete in my last Olympic Games in Paris,” writes the 38-year-old former world No.1.
The Spanish Federation announced Wednesday that Nadal was selected for the Spanish team for the Games in singles and doubles.
The Olympic tennis tournament will take place from July 27 to August 4 on the clay courts of Roland-Garros.
“With this objective, we believe that the best for my body is not to change surfaces and to continue playing on clay until then. That’s why I’m going to miss Wimbledon this year,” explains the man who has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros.
“I’ve been training on clay” since May 27, the day of his defeat at the 1er round of Roland-Garros against the future winner, Alexander Zverev, specifies the Majorcan, also announcing that he will play the tournament in Bastad, in Sweden (July 15-21) to perfect his preparation on his favorite surface.
Nadal (264e world) returned to competition in mid-April at the start of the European clay season, after sixteen months without almost playing due to injuries.