Rafael Nadal took himself out of the London Olympic Games on Thursday, due to an undisclosed fitness issue.
"I am not in condition to compete in the London Olympics and therefore will not travel as planned with the Spanish delegation to take part in the games," Nadal said in a statement.
Nadal made no mention of any injury this time around, however earlier this month he withdrew from a charity match in Madrid due to tendon issues in his left knee.
"I have to think about my companions, I can't be selfish and I have to think of what's best for Spanish sport, especially tennis and Spanish players and give fellow sportmen with better preparation the chance to compete," he said.
Suffering from ongoing knee issues, Nadal recently took two weeks off to recover from tendinitis in his knee.
"I tried to hurry my preparations and training to the very last minute, but it was not to be," he added.
Nadal was set to be Spain's flag bearer for the Olympics opening ceremony. The tennis player will no longer have the opportunity to earn a second gold medal because of his withdrawal from the Games.
Nadal said the decision "is one of the saddest days of my career as one of my biggest ambitions, that of being Spain's flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the games in London, cannot be. You can imagine how difficult it was to take this decision."
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