It’s a sad day for Rafa fans. Defending Olympic tennis champion Rafael Nadal pulled out of the London Games on Thursday with an undisclosed injury. “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,” the third-ranked Spaniard said in a statement. Rafael Nadal’s already tumultuous season just took a turn for the worse. Nadal’s withdrawal will keep an Olympics tennis streak alive, at least on the men’s side. No player has ever won consecutive Olympic gold medals in singles. Continue reading for the whole message from Rafa. We wish him a speedy recovery!

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. I have to think about my companions, I can’t be selfish and I have to think of what’s best for Spanish sport, especially tennis and Spanish players and give fellow sportsmen with better preparation the chance to compete. I tried to hurry my preparations and training to the very last minute, but it was not
to be. It is one of the saddest days of my career as one of my biggest ambitions, that of being Spain’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the games in London, cannot be. You can imagine how difficult it was to take this decision