Nadal to skip Queen's for Halle

Rafael Nadal will miss next year's Wimbledon warm-up event at Queen's Club and instead play at Halle in Germany, media reports said on Thursday. Nadal won Queen's in 2008 but will instead head for German grass, with the BBC reporting that the Spaniard's switch is linked to tax reasons but also the offer of a large appearance fee in Halle, his rival Roger Federer's own preferred Wimbledon tune-up. Under British tax legislation, sports stars must pay a portion of tax on their worldwide endorsements, the proportion determined by how much time they compete in a year in Britain. They must also pay around half of their appearance fee. The British tax ruling also was a factor in sprint Olympic champion Usain Bolt skipping the London Diamond League meeting last year. Reports said Nadal had been offered around one million euros to play in Halle. Queen's tournament director, Chris Kermode, says he hopes Nadal will return soon to the event. "Rafa will not be with us next year," the Daily Mail quoted Kermode as saying. "It's disappointing but we know how much he enjoys our event and we hope to be welcoming him back soon."