Spain's tennis player Rafael Nadal listens to Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo during a press conference at the Paris city hall on June 11, 2018, a day after he won his 11th French Open title in Roland Garros and 17th grand slam title. AFP / Stephane De Sakutin
LONDON: French Open champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week's Queen's Club tournament in an attempt to be ready for Wimbledon.
The No. 1-ranked Nadal won his 11th title at Roland Garros on Sunday. But after playing 27 matches on clay the past two months, the 32-year-old Spaniard feels he needs time to recover.
Nadal said in a statement: "Queen's is a great event, I have happy memories of winning the title in 2008 and I wanted to come back this year. But it has been a very long clay court season for me with great results. I have spoken to my doctors and I need to listen to what my body is telling me."
Queen's is one of the main warm-up tournaments for Wimbledon, which begins on July 2.
