Rafael Nadal spotted in training and it may give clue over whether he will play at Wimbledon

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Rafael Nadal has dropped the biggest hint of where he will next appear on court.

The Spaniard last played at the 2024 French Open in May where he was beaten by Alexander Zverev in the first round.

The 38-year-old was encouraged by his level of play after making his return in April after three months out due to injury.

In January he returned on the hard courts at the Brisbane International after a year out and played just three matches before he returned at the Barcelona Open in the spring.

Given the number of physical issues he has endured, the 22-time Grand Slam champion is managing his schedule carefully and seems clear on where his next tournament will be.

Where is Rafael Nadal training?

Less than two weeks after suffering just his fourth loss at Roland Garros, Nadal was filmed practising at his self-titled Rafael Nadal Academy in Majorca.

However, the clip filmed by Instagram user @damlatuzun and posted on X by @Stroppa_Del showed the tennis legend training on clay instead of grass.

This seems to indicate that Nadal may skip Wimbledon, which begins on July 1, and is preparing for the Olympics, which commences on July 27 and will be played at Roland Garros.

The former World number one has expressed his desire to represent his country of Spain at what would be his third Olympic Games.

In his first Olympics in 2008, Nadal claimed the singles gold medal and eight years later in Rio, he won the men’s doubles gold medal, alongside Marc Lopez. 

Is Rafael Nadal set to miss Wimbledon for the second year in a row?

Should Nadal miss Wimbledon he will miss the grass court Grand Slam for the second successive year.

He missed the 2023 edition of the event due to injury. He last played at the All-England Club in 2022, where he reached the semi-finals. He was unable to compete for a spot in the final after withdrawing due to an abdominal injury.

After losing to Zverev at Roland Garros, while it is not confirmed, Nadal suggested that he was likely not to appear at SW19.

“For me now [it] looks difficult to make a transition to grass, then having the Olympics again on clay. I cannot confirm anything. I need to talk with the team and analyse facts,” Nadal said.

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