Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Image Credit: NYT

Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the upcoming Wimbledon Championship and Tokyo Olympics. The Spanish ace had lost to world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals last week.

The 35-year-old announced the decision on Twitter saying the reason for is "to prolong my career".

"I have decided not to participate at this year's Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo," he tweeted. "It's never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss(ing) it with my team I understand that it is the right decision. 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 tweet continued: "The fact that there has only been 2 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."