22-time major champion winning tennis legend Rafael Nadal has officially withdrew from Wimbledon. He withdraws just a day before he is supposed to face off against Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals, making it the first time since 1931 a male athlete has pulled out of the oldest Grand Slam tournament before a semifinal or final match.
In a recent news conference Nadal justified his decision saying, “I made my decision because I believe that I can’t win two matches under these circumstances. I can’t serve. It’s not only that I can’t serve at the right speed, it’s that I can’t do the normal movement to serve.” Despite his injury worsening, Nadal did try to continue to compete.
The only other time Nadal pulled out of a Grand Slam tournament was at the 2016 French Open where he also withdrew due to an injured left wrist. With Nadal’s withdrawal, Kyrigos advances forward to his first title match at a major tournament. He is now the first unseeded men’s finalist at Wimbledon since Mark Philippoussis. Entering the finals, Kyrgios will either meet three-time defending champion and No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic or No. 9 seed Cam Norrie.
Nadal’s stomach muscle injury has been persistent during the Grand Slam. In the first set of his almost 4.5-hour victory against Taylor Fritz, the pain was reportedly unbearable. He was seen wearing two athletic strips of tape on his lower abdomen. The final Grand Slam of the year is the US Open which starts on August 29.
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