"Rafael Nadal could have won matches and made a run at Wimbledon 2024 if he chose to play" - Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick believes that Rafael Nadal could have made a decent run at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships had the Spaniard opted to participate. Nadal withdrew from the prestigious grasscourt Major, preferring to prepare solely for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

This year's Olympic tennis tournament will be held at Roland Garros, which is where the Spaniard appeared last in a first-round loss to Alexander Zverev at the 2024 French Open. Had he chosen to participate at Wimbledon, the Spaniard would have had to tweak his preparations specifically for grass. Instead, he chose to keep practicing on clay to give him the best chance of success at what would be his last Olympics appearance.

Recently, Andy Roddick spoke up about Nadal's 2024 Wimbledon absence on an episode of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast. According to the 2003 US Open champion, the Spaniard would have managed to do fairly well had he featured at SW19 this year. However, Roddick also acknowledged the 22-time Grand Slam winner's decision to skip Wimbledon owing to the toll that switching surfaces takes on the body.

"He (Nadal) could have won matches and made a run (at Wimbledon) if he chose to play, but I get it. Switching surfaces sucks for the body. All of a sudden, you go from building up reserves on clay, grinding out matches, your bodywork, and all of a sudden you're dealing with lower back issues on grass because you're bending and twisting and that's not of need to him," Roddick said. (22:10)

The 41-year-old proceeded to say that having adjusted to the clay after appearances at the Barcelona Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open, Nadal could have continued his preparations on grass, which could have helped him in mustering a deep run at SW19. Ultimately though, Roddick expressed his happiness about watching the Spaniard play at the Olympics.

"Listen, he made the right decision, but in my mind, I'm going, I have had the thought, I don't know if I fully believe it, but that might be his best bet to win a Slam or get to a last four right now, even including clay. So, based on what his body's capable of doing, the movement, speed, gets a little help on the serve, all the adjustments that he has to make, for his body now, are kind of adjustments that he has to make on grass anyway. I'm just happy we're going to see him again (at the Olympics)," Roddick added.

"I will miss playing at Wimbledon this year" - Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal after winning the 2010 Wimbledon Championships

After reports surfaced from Spain, Rafael Nadal himself took to social media to confirm that he will not be featuring at this year's Wimbledon. The Spaniard expressed his sadness for having to make the tough call but said that it was necessary considering his desire to play at his best for his country at the Olympics.

"With this goal (of playing at the Olympics), we believe that the best for my body is not to change surface and keep playing on clay until then. It’s for this reason that I will miss playing at the Championships this year at Wimbledon. I am saddened not to be able to live this year the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart, and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Nadal is a two-time Wimbledon winner. His first SW19 title triumph came in 2008 after he defeated his great rival Roger Federer in the final, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. In 2010, he won his second Wimbledon title, defeating Tomas Berdych in the final.