Rafael Nadal insists skipping Wimbledon 2024 was the right call

Spain’s legendary tennis star Rafael Nadal believes skipping Wimbledon 2024 was the right decision. The 37-year-old is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles.

Nadal, who is currently participating in the Bastad Open, recently decided not to take part in the third Grand Slam of the year. The tournament concluded on Sunday with Spain’s young tennis sensation winning the men’s singles title after beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets. The 22-time Grand Slam winner was recently quoted in a report in which he stated that, in his opinion, skipping the grass-court season was the ‘right decision’.

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“I love playing tennis,” he said. “After Roland Garros, it saddened me that I could only train for a week at the physical level I needed to give myself the chance to be competitive on the Tour. That’s why I decided to keep training, to see how my body reacted with the Olympics in sight. Skipping the grass season was the right decision. I’m happy to play on clay here in Bastad and look forward to being at Roland Garros in two weeks for the Olympics.”

Those words make some sense as Nadal has struggled with fitness concerns over the last few years. The Spaniard missed nearly the full 2023 season because of an injury. During that time, the former world number one announced that the 2024 season would be his last at the highest level. Nadal returned to the court at the start of the 2024 campaign but once suffered an injury during the Brisbane International, which kept him out of action for over two months.

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He finally returned to the court before the start of the Barcelona Open but has failed to produce consistent positive results. Nadal’s most anticipated appearance came in the French Open where he was knocked out after losing in the opening round to Germany’s Alexander Zverev in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.