Rafael Nadal officially confirmed his decision to withdraw from the upcoming Wimbledon 2024 on Thursday, June 13. The legendary tennis star also revealed that he will be participating in the Paris Olympics 2024 for the last time.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner confirmed his desire to feature in the Summer Olympics after getting knocked out by Alexander Zverev in the opening round of the Roland-Garros 2024 last month. The Spaniard, who holds Olympics gold in both singles and doubles, will partner the French Open 2024 winner Carlos Alcaraz in the men's doubles in the Paris Games.
The tennis matches of the Paris Olympics will be played on clay surfaces in Paris where Nadal boasts a record 14 majors. Nadal also added that he will prepare for the Olympics by participating in the Bastad Open, the ATP 250 tournament.
"During my post match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practicing on clay," Rafael Nadal wrote in his X post. "It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics.
"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.
"In order to prepare for the Olympic Games, I will play the tournament in Bastad, Sweden. A tournament that I played earlier in my career and where I had a great time both on and off the court. Looking forward to seeing you all there. Thank you."
Nadal is the only tennis player after Andre Agassi to record 'a Career Gold Slam', a historic feat that refers to players who win all four Grand Slams and a gold in the Summer Olympics. Nadal won the Gold in the men's singles in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and then in the men's doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
