Rafael Nadal is OUT of Wimbledon after withdrawing through injury

Rafael Nadal’s unlikely push for the calendar Grand Slam was always likely to be derailed by his increasingly uncooperative body.

At the French Open he spoke of how his doctor had ‘put his foot to sleep’ to get through the tournament and that he was not prepared to have another course of injections for the grass season.

Such has been his continuing success it is easy to forget that he is nearer 40 than 30 and that he missed the second half of last season with the first outbreak of foot problems.

Nadal was struggling with an abdominal problem in his quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz

Nick Kyrgios has been given a bye to the final with Nadal unable to compete on Friday

Only the nervousness of Taylor Fritz when faced with such a huge opportunity stopped Nadal from going out in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, when even his family were urging him to quit.

Spanish newspaper Marca reported on Thursday that the 22-time Grand Slam champion had suffered a 7mm tear in his abdomen, but was still hoping to face Nick Kyrgios in today’s semi-final.

Nadal managed 33 minutes of hitting on the Wimbledon practice courts yesterday, but when he called a press conference last night the writing was on the wall.

‘I made my decision because I believe I can’t win two matches under these circumstances,’ said Nadal.

‘I can’t serve. It is not only that I can’t serve at the right speed, it’s that I can’t do the normal movement to serve.

Nadal looked disconsolate when addressing the media with his news on Thursday evening

‘For respect to myself in some way, I don’t want to go out there and not be competitive enough to play at the level that I need to play to achieve my goal — and with a big chance to make things much worse.’

Asked about the end of his bid to win all four majors in 2022, the Australian and French Open champion replied: ‘I never thought about the calendar Slam. I thought about my daily happiness and my daily work.

‘I am in the semi-finals, so I’m playing very well the last couple of days. That makes me feel a bit worse because I felt that, playing at the level I was, probably I will have a chance (to win the title).’

The 36-year-old still hopes to play the season’s final major in New York at the end of August.

‘It’s going to be around three, four weeks (to recover),’ he said. ‘So I hope it will allow me to do my normal calendar.’

Nadal pulled out of a practice session and the pain was too much for him to continue 

It is a sad end to the tournament for the Spaniard, who will play no further part

Kyrgios will either play Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie in the final on Sunday 

The news was a huge disappointment to fans who had been anticipating a mouth-watering clash — Kyrgios versus Nadal always has a particular edge. 

The Australian posted on social media last night: ‘Different players, different personalities. Rafael Nadal I hope your recovery goes well and we all hope to see you healthy soon. Till next time…’

Nadal’s withdrawal does not make Djokovic a shoo-in for the title. Even if he gets past Cam Norrie, he has played Kyrgios twice and lost twice.

Kyrgios now has a three-day gap between matches to get his body absolutely right.

Wimbledon last night reversed an initial policy not to offer refunds. Ticket holders could go online and apply for a refund but only prior to midnight.

Nadal took a medical timeout in the second set before roaring back to beat Fritz in five sets

Nadal was on for the calendar Grand Slam but will no longer be able to achieve it