This is a real pity.

The world’s number one tennis player, Rafael Nadal, has just announced that he will not be playing in this year’s Wimbledon championship due to ongoing knee problems. He has made it to the finals at the prestigious grasscourt tournament three years running and last year won his first title in dramatic fashion over Roger Federer.

Although Federer is my favorite, I love watching Nadal and am a big fan of his play and his studliness. Matches between he and Federer in the game’s biggest events are usually epic and worth clearing your calendar for.

It will not happen this year. He is the first reigning Wimbledon men’s champion to not defend the title since Goran Ivanisevic in 2002—and only the second in the last 35 years.

“I’m just not 100 percent,” Rafa said in a news conference at the All England Club. “I’m better than I was a couple of weeks ago but I just don’t feel ready.”

If he is not at his best – which you have to be for grass – it probably is better than he continue to heal and not end uplosing to a lesser player in an early round.

He will be greatly missed and his absence makes Federer a big favorite. Still, I also give Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic a realistic chance.