Rafael Nadal claims playing at Wimbledon ‘looks difficult’
Rafael Nadal has played down his chances of playing at Wimbledon this year, revealing that transitioning to grass courts ahead of the Olympics is ‘not a good idea’.
Nadal suffered his earliest ever defeat at Roland Garros yesterday, losing to fourth seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
This was the Spaniard’s first Grand Slam match since the 2023 Australian Open, where he suffered a serious psoas tear (abdominal muscle) that kept him out until January this year.
Since then, Nadal has been working to get back for a potential final Roland Garros tournament, in what could be his last year as a professional tennis player.
However, the 37-year-old does not appear to be as likely to compete at Wimbledon, despite appearing on the initial entry list.
“It looks difficult, honestly. I can’t confirm what’s going on, but it looks difficult to make the transition to grass, having the Olympics again on clay,” admitted Nadal in his press conference. “I cannot confirm anything, I have to talk with the team to analyse so many facts.”
He continued, “But I don’t think it’s going to be smart after all the things that happened to my body to make a big transition to a completely different surface and then come back immediately to clay. Today I feel that’s not a good idea.”
Some of tennis’ biggest stars were courtside to watch what could have been Rafael Nadal’s last appearance at Roland-Garros ❤️
He has won 112 of 116 French Open matches (96.5%) — the highest winning percentage of any singles tennis player in a major. pic.twitter.com/hoevlxOr8c
— ESPN (@espn) May 28, 2024
Nadal is hoping to play at the Paris Olympics in July, with the tennis events taking place at Stade Roland Garros, and there are rumours of a potential doubles pairing with Carlos Alcaraz.
Inside the baseline…
It is unsurprising that Rafael Nadal may not play at Wimbledon, with the Olympic Games on the clay of Roland Garros always going to take priority. However, this was only Nadal’s initial thoughts and after discussing with his team he may have a change of heart, but it seems unlikely at this moment with the 37-year-old understandably prioritising his body after such a difficult spell of injuries.
READ MORE – Rafael Nadal: I’m not saying I’m retiring today
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