Reflecting on Rafael Nadal’s Olympic Withdrawal

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 21, 2012

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Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from the Olympic event is a sad time for the sport and for the player personally, but does it expose the darker side of the golden era of tennis?

It was no secret that Nadal was struggling with tendinitis in his left knee—he pulled out of an exhibition match against Novak Djokovic at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium at the start of this month—and he has been struggling with the problem for a while.

You will remember that he pulled out of Wimbledon in 2009, he withdrew at the Australian Open against Andy Murray in 2010, and he did so once again in the Miami semifinal earlier this year. This is in no way a new injury and even with a bit of R&R between tournaments, such as his little fishing trip after he was, to the shock of the world, knocked out of Wimbledon by Lukas Rosol, Nadal will still have to play through the pain barrier at times.

For a while now, players have been asking for changes to the schedule, but Nadal had over a month’s rest between the Australian Open and Indian Wells earlier this year.

Yes, his clay court schedule is hectic and probably does have an adverse effect on those knees, but that is a hugely important time of year for the 26-year-old. He is, after all, the "King of Clay" and while he could probably take a break by missing Barcelona, he needs to play most of the clay court season to continue his quest to return to world No. 1.

Nadal’s withdrawal from London 2012 is an earth-shattering blow to the event. He draws the crowds, and the world No. 3 was to be Spain’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony. You can tell by his choice of words just how much the occasion and defending his gold medal meant to him.

“I am not in condition to compete in the London Olympics and therefore will not travel as planned with the Spanish delegation to take part in the games," Nadal said.



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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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