But the 37 year-old’s quest has been hampered in recent years with various injury struggles, leading fans curious as to whether on not he will take his place in the Wimbledon draw when the tournament gets underway on July 3.
So, will Nadal be playing at Wimbledon this year?
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the iconic tournament in SW19.
Is Rafael Nadal playing at Wimbledon?
Sadly for fans of the legendary Spaniard, Nadal will not be playing at Wimbledon this year.
He is currently nursing a hip flexor injury which he sustained during his second round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald in the Australian Open back in January.
Having not played since then, including withdrawing from the French Open, Nadal underwent arthroscopic surgery on his psoas muscle in June.
Recovery from the surgery is expected to keep him away from the tennis court for five months, effectively ending his season and definitely ruling him out of the US Open later this summer.
Owing to his struggles with injury, Nadal has confirmed 2024 will likely be his last season on tour before hanging up his racquet for good.
Expanding on his likely retirement next year, Nadal said: ‘2024 is probably going to be my last year on the professional Tour. My motivation is to try and enjoy and say goodbye to all the tournaments that have been important to me.
‘I’ve not been able to enjoy my daily training. I’m not going to go to the practice courts for a while, so I’m going to stop, maybe for one month, two, three or four. I don’t know.
‘It might be a goal to try and play in the Davis Cup at the end of the year if I’m feeling good and also the captain considers me good enough. My hope is that I’ll return when I feel ready physically and I suppose, mentally.
‘I want to give myself the opportunity to compete again. 2024 might be my last year but after that nobody knows what might happen. I’ll try to do my best to compete at the highest level and do everything in my power so that next year I can try and win tournaments.’
‘I want to be thankful for all the good things that have happened to me. I can’t keep demanding more and more from my body because there will be a time when my body says ‘That’s enough’… It will be a hard process [to return] and will require a lot of effort.’
How many times has Rafael Nadal won Wimbledon?
Nadal has won Wimbledon twice in his career.
His first title came in 2008, beating career rival Roger Federer in an epic five set thriller, lasting almost five hours, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis matches in history.
Nadal was triumphant at Wimbledon again in 2010, easing to a straight sets victory over Tomas Berdych in the final on Centre Court.
MORE : Wimbledon beckons as Novak Djokovic eyes a 24th grand slam success
MORE : Rafael Nadal sends message to French Open champion Novak Djokovic
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