Due to an abdominal injury, Rafael Nadal withdrew from his Wimbledon semifinal matchup against Nick Kyrgios.
The 36-year-old Spanish second seed battled through agony to defeat Taylor Fritz in five sets on Wednesday after receiving treatment during their quarterfinal match.
“I have tried a lot of times in my career to keep going but it is obvious the injury will get worse,” he said.
In the Sunday final, Kyrgios will face either Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie.
Nadal said that a tear in his abdominal muscle prevents him from competing in two matches.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion scheduled a news conference after practicing at Wimbledon earlier in the day without the media.
“Throughout the whole day I have been thinking about the decision to make,” Nadal told reporters.
“I think it doesn’t make sense to play. I feel very sad to say that.”
Despite having strapping on his abdomen during his match against Fritz in the fourth round, Nadal was clearly in pain due to the injury.
During the game, he took a medical break and defied orders from his father and sister to give up before somehow managing to come back and win.
Having already won the Australian and French Opens this year, the two-time Wimbledon champion was on track for a calendar Grand Slam.