Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon

London, United Kingdom (UK)- 22-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal, has withdrawn from the ongoing Wimbledon tournament.

The 36-year-old Spaniard announced the withdrawal following an abdominal injury during his quarter-final match against Taylor Fritz on Wednesday, which he went on to win.

“Unfortunately as you can imagine I am here because I have to pull out of the tournament. As everyone saw yesterday I have been suffering from pain in the abdomen and something was not ok there. That is confirmed, I have a tear in the muscle and the communication is too late. I have tried a lot of times in my career to keep going but it is obvious the injury will get worse.

Throughout the whole day, I have been thinking about the decision to make. I think it doesn’t make sense to play. I feel very sad to say that.

I had this feeling in the abdomen for the past week. It will be three or four weeks, which is normal for this kind of injury. I hope this will allow me to do my normal calendar, the calendar which I have in mind.

All the decisions are the player’s decisions, but at the same time I need to know different opinions and I need to check everything the proper way. That is even something more important than to win Wimbledon, which is health,” said Nadal.

Moreso, Nadal suffers from Mueller-Weiss syndrome a rare degenerative condition that affects bones in the feet.

As a result, Nadal’s scheduled Australian opponent Nick Kyrgios has now received a walkover into the maiden major final.

Nevertheless, Kyrgios has wished Nadal a speedy recovery from the injury, “Different players, different personalities. I hope your recovery goes well and we all hope to see you healthy soon. Till next time!”