Rafael Nadal to miss Wimbledon to focus on doubles bid at Paris Olympics
The Spaniard looks likely to have played his final match at the All England Club.
Rafael Nadal is set to miss Wimbledon to prepare for the Olympic Games, where he will team up with Carlos Alcaraz in a dream doubles partnership.
The expected news was confirmed by Spain’s Olympic team captain, David Ferrer, on Wednesday, with Nadal having said last month that it would not be good for his body to switch surfaces from clay to grass.
With Nadal expected to retire at some point this year, it appears his final match at Wimbledon will be a quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz in 2022, following which he withdrew from the tournament because of an abdominal injury.
The 38-year-old made the French Open and Olympics his priorities after returning from a year out with hip problems.
He lost in the first round of the singles at Roland Garros last month to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev but will have another chance on the Parisian clay, with the Olympic tennis being held at the same venue.
The pair have never played together in a match before, while Alcaraz is very inexperienced in doubles, but they are sure to be one of the biggest draws of the event.
Alcaraz will go into the singles tournament as arguably the favourite for gold having just won his third grand slam title at Roland Garros.
