Why Rafael Nadal Won't Play at Wimbledon and Tokyo Olympics

Rafael Nadal has announced he will not play at Wimbledon and at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after "listening to his body".

The 20-time major winner shared the news on Thursday morning on Twitter, less than a week after his bid for a 14th French Open crown ended in a grueling semifinal against Novak Djokovic.

Nadal lost to the world No.1 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (4-7), 2-6 in four hours and 11 minutes.

"I have decided not to participate at this year's Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo," the Spaniard wrote on Twitter.

"It's never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss it with my team I understand that it is the right decision."

The withdrawal means Nadal, a two-time winner at Wimbledon, will be absent at the All England Club for the fourth time in his career after missing the tournament in 2004, 2009 and 2016.

The latter of those absence came just a month before Nadal was Spain's flag carrier in the opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil.

In the 2016 Games, Nadal won the gold medal in doubles alongside Marc Lopez, his second Olympic gold medal after the one he won in the singles eight years earlier.

"The Olympic Games always meant a lot and they were always a priority," he added.

However, he explained that: "Prevention of any kind of excess in my body is a very important factor at this stage of my career in order to try to keep fighting for the highest level of competition and titles."

Nadal cited the limited time to get ready for the grass season as the main factor behind his decision. The Spaniard turned 35 at the beginning of the month and felt a two-week window between the Roland Garros and Wimbledon was not enough for him to recuperate.

Wimbledon runs from June 28 through to July 11, with the Olympic Games set to begin 12 days later.

"The goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy, that is to compete at the highest level and keep fighting for those professional and personal goals at the maximum level of competition.

"The fact that there has only been two weeks between RG and Wimbledon, didn't make it easier on my body to recuperate after the always demanding clay court season.

"They have been two months of great effort and the decision I take is focused looking at the mid and long term."

Nadal's absence at Wimbledon means Djokovic could draw level with him and Roger Federer as the most successful player in the history of men's singles tennis.

The Serbian is one short of Nadal and Federer's all-time record tally of 20 Grand Slam tournament titles after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final last week.

Djokovic came from two sets down to win 6–7 (6-8), 2–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4.