Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal announced Thursday he will not take part in either Championships at Wimbledon or Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Nadal cited health concerns stating "the goal is to prolong my career." The 13-time French Open champion was defeated in the semifinals at the tournament for the first time in his career last week with a four-set loss to Novak Djokovic. 

"Hi all, I have decided not to participate at this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It’s never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss it with my team I understand that it is the right decision," Nadal wrote on Twitter.

"The goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy, that is to compete at the highest level and keep fighting for those professional and personal goals at he maximum level of competition.

"The fact that there has only been 2 weeks between (the French Open) and Wimbledon, didn’t make it easier on my body to recuperate after the always demanding clay court season. They have been two months of great effort and the decision I take is focused looking at the mid and long term.

"Sport prevention of any kind of excess in my body is a very important factor at this stage of my career in order to try to keep fighting for the highest level of competition and titles."

"I want to send a special message to my fans around the world, to those in the United Kingdom and Japan in particular.

"The Olympic Games always meant a lot and they were always a priority as a Sports person, I found the spirit that every sports person in the world wants to live. I personally had the chance to live 3 of them and had the honor to be the flag bearer for my country.“

Nadal, a two-time champion at Wimbledon, turned 35 earlier this month. He won gold while representing Spain at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.