14-times grand slam champion Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon due to injury

Rafael Nadal will not play at Wimbledon because of the wrist injury that forced him out of the French Open.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion initially felt pain in his left wrist at the Madrid Open last month, but it worsened at Roland Garros and he withdrew ahead of his third-round match.

Nadal was initially positive about his chances of playing at Wimbledon, but his withdrawal comes as no surprise.

A statement from his agent Benito Perez-Barbadillo read: “His left wrist will continue (to be) immobilised for a maximum of two weeks.

“After that the player will start an anti-inflammatory rehabilitation and physiotherapy based treatment once the cast is removed.”

Nadal had hoped his wrist would only need to be immobilised for two weeks and that the injury would have cleared up in four weeks, giving him a chance of playing at Wimbledon.

However, it would have been a surprise had Nadal been prepared to rush back for Wimbledon given his recent record.

The champion in 2008 and 2010, Nadal has failed to go beyond the fourth round in the last four years, losing to Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis, Nick Kyrgios and Dustin Brown.

The Spaniard, who turned 30 last Friday, is also desperate to be fit for the Olympics in Rio having missed the London Games with knee problems.

Meanwhile, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has pulled out of next week’s Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club.

Like Nadal, he struggled with injury during the French Open. Tsonga was 5-2 up on Ernests Gulbis in his third-round match when he withdrew in tears because of a thigh problem.

Roger Federer – returning to action following the back injury which ruled him out of the French Open last month – got his comeback off to a winning start at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.

After a rain delay which sent his second-round match with Taylor Fritz into a second day, the Swiss was pushed all the way before coming through 6-4 5-7 6-4.

Out of Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal.