Rafael Nadal withdraws from the Wimbledon tournament

Due to an abdominal muscle injury, the Spaniard cannot play against Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals. Novak Djokovic and Cameron Norrie determine the second finalist.

Rafael Nadal is stopped again by injury.

Joe Toth / AP / keystone-sda.ch

The news was not unexpected, but the timing was surprising: on Thursday evening, just before 8 a.m. UK time, the 36-year-old Spaniard appeared before the media and said he could not play in the semifinals against Nick Kyrgios because of a torn abdominal muscle.

“I’ve been thinking about my decision all day, but it makes no sense to compete.” He came to this decision because it was impossible to play two games under these conditions. “I can’t serve.”

Start at the US Open seems possible – but a dream has burst

Nadal underwent an examination on Thursday which revealed a seven-millimeter tear in his abdominal muscles. After that, he trained slightly for 45 minutes at the All England Lawn Tennis Club and tested what was possible. After a lengthy consultation with his team, he decided to retire. The injury could have gotten worse and cost him two, three months of the season.

His father Sebastian had already asked him to retire on Wednesday during the quarterfinals against American Taylor Fritz. There, however, the 22-time Grand Slam winner had fought his way through in five sets. He will probably have to sit out for three to four weeks – the start at the US Open, which begins in New York at the end of August, remains a realistic goal, he told the media. In a week he wants to start hitting balls again.

However, Nadal’s dream of creating the conditions to play for the calendar Grand Slam at the US Open at the end of August with a third win in Wimbledon has burst. Nadal had won the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the season in Melbourne in January and in Roland-Garros just over a month ago. He was only able to compete there thanks to regular pain-relieving injections. “In the past few days and also when making my decision, I didn’t think about the calendar Grand Slam. It’s about satisfaction in my daily work on the pitch.”

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