Rafael Nadal has retired from Wimbledon, Tokyo Olympics in hopes of “extending” his career

One of the biggest tennis players is taking some time off, and in return he will be missing two of the biggest sporting events on the 2021 calendar. In an ad on social media on Thursday morning, Rafael Nadal revealed that he will not be competing in Wimbledon or the Tokyo Olympics this year.

Nadal said it has not been an “easy decision” but believes it has been the best move for his overall health.

“The goal is to extend my career and continue to do what makes me happy, which is to compete at the highest level and continue to fight for these professional and personal levels of maximum competition,” Nadal wrote. “Just being two weeks between RG (French Open) and Wimbledon didn’t make it any easier for me to recover in my body after a tough clay court season. It took two months of effort and the decision I made to take it in the medium to long term.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas has announced that Nadal will be ranked 3rd at Wimbledon as he advanced to the finals of the French Open before losing to Djokovic. Nadal has made it to the semi-finals of the French Open, eventually losing to the eventual champion and Novak Djokovic to the main standings.

The Spanish star has won Wimbledon twice – in 2008 and 2010. In addition, Nadal won a gold medal in the individual competition at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and doubled his gold with Marc Lopez in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Overall, Nadal has won 20 Grand Slam titles in his legendary career, having been tied with Roger Federer all along. That number will be at least 20 until the U.S. Open begins in August.