Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon and Olympics to ‘prolong career’

PARIS: Rafael Nadal said Thursday he was withdrawing from Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics in a bid “to prolong my career”.

The 35-year-old Spaniard, who won Olympic gold and Wimbledon in 2008, triumphing again at the All England Club two years later, revealed his decision on Twitter.

“I have decided not to participate at this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo,” he tweeted. “It’s never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss(ing) it with my team I understand that it is the right decision.”

World number one Novak Djokovic last week ended Nadal’s four-year reign as French Open champion and went on to seal his 19th Grand Slam.

“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,” said Nadal.

The former world number one said the shorter break between the French Open and Wimbledon this year —- Roland Garros was pushed back by a week — had influenced his decision.

“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,” he said.