In Pictures: Rafael Nadal’s incredible journey from 2004 Athens Olympics to 2024 Paris Olympics
Rafael Nadal has participated in three Olympics in 2004, 2008, and 2016, winning two gold medals.
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Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)
Rafael Nadal has arrived in Paris to bid for another doubles title, for which he teamed up with young sensation Carlos Alcaraz, who recently won two back-to-back Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Before coming to Paris, Nadal skipped Wimbledon and instead played in the Nordea Open where he, for the first time since the 2022 French Open final, reached the summit clash. Although he beat the players in the quarterfinals and semifinals in three sets, he fell to Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the summit clash in straight sets.
Borges became just the fifth player to beat the Spaniard in a clay-court final. The quarterfinal clash with Argentina’s Mariano Navone was also Nadal’s second-longest match in a three-set event.
Nadal suffered injury during the 2023 Australian Open which ruined his plans for the rest of the year as he remained on the sidelines till the Brisbane International in 2024. But another injury forced him to pull out of a few more tournaments.
He finally made his return to the Barcelona Open and hasn’t dealt with any injury trouble so far. He wishes to remain fit for the rest of the season, especially for his matches at the Roland Garros, where, more than a month ago, he suffered a disappointing first-round loss to Alexander Zverev.
Rafael Nadal will participate in his fourth Olympics
Now that Rafael Nadal is back in Paris again, with pictures of him with Carlos Alcaraz going viral on social media, take a look at Nadal’s incredible journey from the 2004 Athens Olympics to the 2024 Paris Olympics:
Nadal has participated in three Olympics. He made his debut in the quadrennial event as a teenager in 2004 when it was held in Athens, where he played in doubles event with Carlos Moya (his current coach) and lost in the first set.
Nadal then and now; Athens-Beijing-Rio-Paris. Hair today, gone tomorrow.
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Nadal made incredible progress in the next few years and claimed his first gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Then a knee injury forced him to stay on the sidelines when the 2012 Olympics was held in London.
The Spaniard then went on to clinch his second gold, this time in doubles along with Marc Lopez. He also played in the singles event, but Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro defeated him in the semifinals.
Nadal has hinted at retirement but it’s safe to say that he won’t be bidding farewell after the Olympics. He has confirmed his participation in the Laver Cup but is unsure if he will play in the US Open.
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- Rafael Nadal confident about doing well in doubles event with Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Paris Olympics
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Gouri Das
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