Benzinga | Jun 17, 2021 11:34AM EDT

Rafael Nadal Makes Shocking Announcement, Skipping The Biggest Tennis Events Of The Summer

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal stunned the sports world Thursday morning by announcing he will skip Wimbledon and the Toyko Olympics.

What Happened: "Hi all, I have decided not to participate at this year's Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. 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," Nadal said in a tweet.

The decision comes after he lost a tough battle to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open. Nadal is a 13-time French Open champion, but cited the fact that the tournament was pushed back by a week due to COVID-19 as a reason for not playing at Wimbledon.

The postponement allowed for less time to rest between tournaments, which led Nadal to tweet, "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."

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Why It's Important: Before the announcement, oddsmakers listed him at +700 to win Wimbledon, according to BetMGM. He has two career championships there, with the last one coming in 2010.

Nadal is tied with Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam tournament wins of all-time with 20. He has also earned two gold medals at the Olympics, winning the singles in 2008 and the doubles in 2016.

Now, Djokovic is the overwhelming favorite to win Wimbledon at -110 while Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev are both +600. Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon winner, is at +700.

The tournament starts on Monday, June 28 on the networks of ESPN.