Sue Barker and Roger Federer are not the only big names absent from this year’s Wimbledon, with Rafael Nadal playing no part in this year’s grass-court Grand Slam. It is the fourth time since 2009 that Nadal has skipped the iconic tournament, which he has only won twice despite being a 23-time Grand Slam champion.
Nadal – the All England Club title-holder in 2008 and 2010 – has reached the semi-finals on all of the last three occasions he has played at SW19 including last year. He was forced to pull out of an exciting final-four showdown with Nick Kyrgios 12 months ago though due to injury, before the Aussie lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.
Djokovic is now looking to win a fifth consecutive title at Wimbledon and Nadal is in no place to stop the Serbian this year. After Djokovic won the French Open, he is now looking to move two Slams clear of the Spaniard by clinching what would be his 24th. That would see him go level with the legendary women’s player Margaret Court.
So why is there no Nadal at Wimbledon 2023? Express Sport are on hand to explain…
Nadal has not played since January 16, when the then world No 1 lost in straight sets to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in just the second round. Nadal was the reigning champion in Melbourne at the time but was noticeably playing through pain in his left hip.
