Expected to miss Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal will instead train for the Paris Olympics by competing in a clay-court event in Bastad, Sweden, a venue he hasn’t been in 19 years.

On Thursday, the 38-year-old Grand Slam champion declared that he would like to stay on clay rather than move to grass for the All England Club and then return to clay for the Summer Games.

In a statement, Nadal added, “We believe that the best thing for my body is not to change the surface.

Rafael Nadal Will Skip Wimbledon So He Doesn’t Have To Switch From Grass To Clay For The Olympics

He has had to play a restricted schedule due to hip and stomach ailments he has been battling for the past 1.5 years, including surgery scheduled for 2023. Final runner-up Alexander Zverev upset Nadal in the first round of the French Open late last month, the first time in Nadal’s career that he has lost consecutive clay court matches.

Tennis will be played in Roland Garros during the Summer Games beginning on July 27. That is where the French Open is held, where Rafael Nadal has won a remarkable 14 championships.

Spanish men’s tennis captain David Ferrer said on Wednesday that Nadal will compete in the Olympics in both singles and doubles, partnering Carlos Alcaraz. On Sunday, Alcaraz, 21, claimed his third Grand Slam victory by winning the French Open. Among men, he is the youngest to hold major titles on all three surfaces.

Rafael Nadal Will Skip Wimbledon So He Doesn’t Have To Switch From Grass To Clay For The Olympics

Nadal was asked about playing at Wimbledon, which takes place from July 1 to 14, following his loss to Zverev in Paris.

Honesty, it looks challenging. It seems hard to switch to grass, and I am having the Olympics on clay again right now, so I can’t confirm what’s happening.

Nadal said, “But I don’t think it’s going to be smart, after all the things that happened to my body, (to) now make a big transition to a completely different surface and then come back immediately to clay.”

At Wimbledon, he defeated Roger Federer in the 2008 final and Tomas Berdych in the 2010 final to win two trophies. In his previous three visits, including his most recent visit to the All England Club in 2022, when he withdrew from the final four due to a ruptured abdominal muscle, Nadal was also the runner-up three times.

Rafael Nadal Will Skip Wimbledon So He Doesn’t Have To Switch From Grass To Clay For The Olympics

“I’m going to miss Wimbledon’s Championships this year. “I am sorry not to be able to live this year in the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart, and I will be with all the British fans who always gave me great support,” Nadal said on Thursday. I shall miss every one of you.

At Bastad, a clay-court competition that begins on July 15, he will make his fourth appearance and first since 2005. In the championship match that year, Nadal defeated Berdych.

SOURCE – (AP)

Whatever transpires with the NBA’s media agreements, Charles Barkley declared on Friday that he will retire from television after the upcoming season.

For the past twenty-four years, the Hall of Fame athlete has worked as a studio analyst for TNT, which may lose the NBA broadcasting rights after the upcoming season.

Charles Barkley Says Next Season Will Be His Last On TV, No Matter What Happens With NBA Media Deals

However, Barkley won’t be following, no matter how the games turn out.

Working on NBA TV’s NBA Finals postgame show, Barkley declared, “There’s been a lot of noise around our network the last few months. I just want to say I’ve talked to all the other networks, but I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT.”

Charles Barkley Says Next Season Will Be His Last On TV, No Matter What Happens With NBA Media Deals

The NBA has been discussing what comes next with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon, among other networks and platforms, as its current contracts with ABC-ESPN and Turner Sports expire after the next season. Commissioner Adam Silver expressed hope last week that fresh long-term agreements would be finished soon.

On their popular “Inside the NBA” studio program, Barkley and broadcast teammates Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith have talked about their uncertain future. Any network airing the NBA would seem to be interested in Barkley, but the 61-year-old has determined that 25 years will be plenty and will “pass the baton,” hopefully to a TNT teammate like Vince Carter or Jamal Crawford.

Charles Barkley Says Next Season Will Be His Last On TV, No Matter What Happens With NBA Media Deals

“But no matter what happens, I have made the decision myself that next year will be my last year on television,” he declared.

SOURCE – (AP)

Germany, the Euro 2024 host, could not have had a better start to the European Championship, trouncing Scotland’s national football team. Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala scored in an impressive first half to lead Germany to a confidence-boosting 5-1 victory.

While Germany didn’t have to work hard against a subpar Scotland at Allianz Arena, it was the perfect way to kick off the tournament and boost national excitement.

Germany captain İlkay Gündoğan stated, “Yes, that’s exactly the way we wanted to start and, to be honest, we needed a start just like that,” to ZDF. “I had a good feeling going into the game, to be honest, and it came true, thank God.

“But exactly this atmosphere, the euphoria in the stadium now with our own fans, that’s exactly what we need in order to go far.”

The Germans’ pre-tournament title aspirations were low after failing to win their previous three major tournaments. However, they began with their most impressive triumph in Euros history.

The German team was fantastic

They dominated the first half, which ended in the worst conceivable way for Scotland: defender Ryan Porteous was sent out, and Kai Havertz converted the penalty kick. Substitutes Niclas Füllkrug and Emre Can added to Scotland’s agony following the break.

“The first 20 minutes were very remarkable. “The first goals were very good,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann stated. “It’s extremely beneficial that many players performed well early on.”

“It was only the first step, but it was an excellent one, and we can expand on it. “We’re very pleased.”

Scotland, which had not had a shot on goal throughout the game, gave its noisy fans something to cheer about late on when the ball was shoved into the back of the net by Germany defender Antonio Rüdiger for an own goal.

Steve Clarke’s team will need to do better against Hungary and Switzerland if it is to go beyond Group A and into the knockout stage for the first time. “A difficult night. We did not perform up to our standards. “The German team was fantastic,” Clarke added.

“We feel like we have let ourselves down. We are better than that. Hopefully, we can show that in the next two games.”

Scotland to play Switzerland next at Euro 2024

Scotland’s Tartan Army of supporters began the match in high spirits, but were quickly silenced when Wirtz scored in the tenth minute. Toni Kroos found Joshua Kimmich with a fantastic crossfield lob, which he rolled across for Wirtz to shoot.

Wirtz, 21, became Germany’s youngest Euro goal scorer. Musiala, 67 days older than Wirtz, doubled Germany’s score nine minutes later after combining nicely with Havertz.

Angus Gunn, Scotland’s goalkeeper, saved a header from Gündoğan at halftime. However, the skipper was upended by Porteous’s challenge. Referee Clément Turpin gave Porteous a straight red card and awarded Germany a penalty, which Havertz converted.

Scotland held out in the second half until an exchange between Musiala and Gündoğan resulted in a goal for Füllkrug. The substitute, who had only been on the field for five minutes, sent a powerful shot into the upper right corner.

Kieran McKenna’s header from a free kick off Rüdiger provided Scotland with a late consolation goal.

Nonetheless, Scotland surrendered five goals for the first time in 12 years when Can, a late substitution for the sick Aleksandar Pavlovic, curled in in stoppage time.

“Feeling great and telling a crazy story…” “I was on vacation two days ago,” Can told ZDF. “Then the call came on Wednesday, and I met with the team that evening, trained once yesterday, came in today (off the bench), and scored a goal. I’m appreciative to Julian (Nagelsmann) and the entire coaching staff for putting their trust in me.”

Before the match, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Scotland First Minister John Swinney, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán were among the thousands in attendance.

On Wednesday, when Scotland plays Switzerland, Germany will turn its attention to Hungary.

Source: AP

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