Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon with wrist injury

Rafael Nadal won’t be playing Wimbledon this year, the victim of a wrist injury that also forced him out of the French Open.

“I’m sad to announce that after talking to my doctors, and receiving the results of my last medical revision, I won’t be able to play at Wimbledon this year,” Nadal said on his Facebok page. “As you can all imagine, it’s a very tough decision, but the injury I suffered at Roland Garros needs time to heal.” Nadal suffered the injury early in the tournament which he has owned for most of the last decade-plus.

His absence from Wimbledon will rob the tournament of star power, if not necessarily competitive strength. Nadal has won 14 Grand Slam titles in his career, though none since the French Open in 2014. He’s won the vast majority of those, nine, at Roland Garros, with two apiece coming at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and one at the Australian Open.

Nadal has not won at Wimbledon since 2010, though his victories there include a 2008 two-tiebreaker, 9-7 final set victory over Roger Federer widely regarded as one of the greatest matches in tennis history. Wimbledon begins on June 27. 

Nadal still hopes to play in the Rio Olympics, but his coaches have indicated he will not return until completely healthy. 

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.