Nadal says he will not play Wimbledon and instead will prepare for Olympics

Rafael Nadal is going to skip Wimbledon as expected and instead prepare for the Paris Olympics by entering a claycourt tournament in Bastad Sweden he hasnt been to in 19 yearsThe 22time Grand Slam champion who turned 38 on June 3 said Thursday he wants to just remain on clay rather than switching over to grass for the All England Club then needing to go back to clay for the Summer GamesWe believe that the best for my body is not to change surface Nadal said in a statementHe has been dealing with hip and abdominal injuries over the past 1 12 years including having surgery in 2023 and has been forced to play a limited schedule Nadal was defeated in the first round of the French Open late last month by eventual runnerup Alexander Zverev iquest marking the first time in Nadals career he has lost consecutive matches on clayThe Summer Games will hold the tennis competition at Roland Garros starting on July 27 That is the site of the French Open where Nadal has won a record 14 titlesNadal will play doubles with Carlos Alcaraz and singles at the OIympics Spanish mens tennis captain David Ferrer said Wednesday Alcaraz 21 won the French Open on Sunday for his third Grand Slam title He is the youngest man to own major championships on all three surfacesAlso ReadItalyrsquos Tamberi clinches European high jump titleAfter his exit against Zverev in Paris Nadal was asked about participating at Wimbledon which runs from July 114Looks difficult honestly For me now I cant confirm whats going on but it looks difficult to make a transition to grass having the Olympics again on clay he saidBut I dont think its 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 clayHe won two titles at Wimbledon beating Roger Federer in the 2008 final and Tomas Berdych in the 2010 final Nadal also was the runnerup there three times and exited after reaching the semifinals in each of his past three appearances including his last trip to the All England Club in 2022 when he withdrew from the final four because of a torn abdominal muscleI 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 said Thursday and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support I will miss you allThis will be his fourth appearance at Bastad a claycourt tournament that starts July 15 and first since 2005 Nadal won the trophy there that year beating Berdych in the finalWith agency inputs