Rafa Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon due to wrist injury

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon due to his wrist injury.

The Spaniard, who turned 30 at the beginning of June, has failed to recover from the problem which forced him to quit the French Open two weeks ago.

Nadal had arrived at Roland Garros with a genuine chance of claiming a 10th Grand Slam title on clay - his favourite surface - having enjoyed some decent form in Europe during spring.

Following tournament victories in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, Nadal swept through his opening two matches in Paris for the loss of just nine games.

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However, he had to pull out of his third round clash with Marcel Granollers, after which he described the full extent of his serious injury: "It's not broken but if I continue to play it will be 100 per cent broken in a few days.

"To win the tournament I need five more matches, and the doctor says that's 100 per cent impossible. This is a very bad position but that's life."

Nadal was also expecting to play the pre-Wimbledon event at Queens Club, but withdrew from the tournament last week.

This latest setback also puts his participation at this summer's Olympic Games in doubt.

Nadal used his Facebook page to report: "I'm sad to announce that, after talking to my doctors and receiving the results of my last medical revision, I won't be able to play at Wimbledon this year.

"As you can all imagine, it's a very tough decision, but the injury I suffered at Roland Garros needs time to heal."

Due to his style of play, which puts enormous stress on his joints, Nadal has suffered a number of problems during his career.

Tendonitis in his knees denied him the opportunity of defending his Wimbledon title in 2009, while he also failed to compete at the 2012 Olympics in London - having won gold four years earlier.

If or when he manages to return to top-class tennis remains to be seen but history has shown how difficult it can be to recover from serious wrist injuries, as former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro and Britain's Laura Robson can testify in recent years.