Nadal Withdraws From Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal announced Thursday that he would not play Wimbledon as he continues to recover from a left wrist injury, which also forced him to withdraw from the French Open.

“As you can all imagine, it’s a very tough decision, but the injury I suffered at Roland Garros needs time to heal,” Nadal said in a post on his Facebook page.

Nadal, ranked No. 4, is a two-time Wimbledon champion, but he has not advanced past the fourth round since losing the final in 2011. This year’s tournament begins June 27.

After losing in the first round of the Australian Open in January, Nadal had been having a resurgent spring on clay, winning in Monte Carlo and Barcelona and reaching the semifinals in Madrid.

But he stunned the French Open last month when, before his third-round match, he pulled out of the tournament with an inflamed tendon sheath in his left wrist. He said he could no longer hit a topspin forehand, his signature shot, without major pain.

Nadal, who turned 30 last week, has struggled with injuries, particularly in his knees, throughout his career. He withdrew from the 2014 United States Open with a right wrist injury.

Nadal said the pain in his left wrist began at the Madrid tournament in early May and continued at the Rome event the next week. At the time, he treated it with anti-inflammatories. But the injury grew worse when he arrived in Paris.

He played his second-round match after receiving a painkilling injection, and on May 27, the day he withdrew, he said he “could not move much the wrist.”

He said his doctor told him he risked a tear if he continued playing.

“If I continue to play, it will break, and that will mean months off the tour,” Nadal said.

Nadal’s spokesman, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, said in a statement that Nadal’s wrist would remain in a cast for two more weeks, and then he would begin anti-inflammatory treatments and physical therapy.