Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon

Former world number one Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon on Friday night due to the wrist injury that forced him to pull out from the French Open in May just before his third round match.

Rafael Nadal's wrist injury has forced him to miss this year's Wimbledon. Reuters/Pascal Rossignol

Nadal, who has just turned 30, made the announcement on his Facebook page.  "Hi everybody. 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."

The championships begin in south-west London in three weeks and Nadal's next target is to recover in time for the Olympic Games in Rio.

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

Nadal's wrist is still in a cast which will be removed in two weeks. After that, he will undergo physiotherapy in an attempt to return to competition.

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion whose own career has been blighted by wrist injuries, backed Nadal to return but warned against impatience.

"My advice is just to take your time," said del Potro. "The wrist suffers when you play and train. If you are not feeling at 100 percent then you need to wait. Rafa is a big fighter. I'm sure he will be back on the courts very shortly."

Nadal's coach, Toni Nadal, said: "We don't want to put in danger his participation in the Olympic Games. Rafa will return when the doctors are convinced that all is going well. He won't play unless he's 100 per cent."

Nadal, who won the Wimbledon title in 2008 and 2010, missed the 2004 and 2009 events through injury.

Last year he was knocked out in the second round by Dustin Brown from Germany.