Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka have pulled out of Wimbledon Open.
Gatekeepers News reports that Wimbledon Open will hold without two of the biggest stars in tennis, as Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka announced their withdrawal from the tournament.
Rafael Nadal who just witnessed his first defeat in five years at the clay courts of the French Open was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the final of the recently concluded Roland Garros.
The 35-year-old winner of 20 major tournaments on Thursday, said he won’t play in Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics.
Nadal in a social media post said “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.”
His exit from the summer’s biggest tournaments has somewhat cleared the runway for his closest rival Djokovic who is in his quest to meet up with the record of Roger Federer and Nadal’s 20 Grand Slam titles.
Gatekeepers News reported that Federer pulled out of the French Open at the end of the first week to better preserve his twice-surgically-repaired knee for a run at Wimbledon.
Nadal further wrote, “The fact that there has only been 2 weeks between [Roland-Garros] 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.”
Nadal is a two-time Wimbledon champion in 2008 and 2010 and won the men’s singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka who withdrew from the French Open after citing mental health concerns has also announced her withdrawal from Wimbledon.
Unlike, Nadal, Osaka said she would return to the court at the Tokyo Olympics, which begin in late July.
A statement released by her team read: “Naomi won’t be playing Wimbledon this year. She is taking some personal time with friends and family. She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans.”
The duo are also expected to be ready for the U.S. Open, where Osaka is the defending champion and Nadal won in 2019.
