Rafael Nadal announced on social media Thursday that he will not compete at Wimbledon.
The Spaniard explained that with this year’s Olympics being played on clay at Roland Garros, he does not want to change surface. He most recently played at Roland Garros.
“During my post match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practising on clay. It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics,” Nadal wrote. “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 the same announcement, Nadal revealed that he has added another tournament to his calendar: the Nordea Open in Bastad.
“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,” Nadal wrote. “Looking forward to seeing you all there. Thank you.”
Nadal has competed in Bastad three times, most recently when he won the tournament in 2005. That year he earned wins against four players who reached the world’s Top 10: Juan Monaco, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tommy Robredo and Tomas Berdych.
New World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner is also scheduled to play in Bastad.
