Rafael Nadal confirms skipping Wimbledon, names his comeback tournament in preparation for Paris Olympics

The 14-time French Open champion, in a series of tweets, explained that it's better for his body to keep playing on the red dirt and not change the surface.

Rafael Nadal confirms skipping Wimbledon, names his comeback tournament in preparation for Paris Olympics

Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)

Rafael Nadal won’t be playing Wimbledon because he wants to participate in the Paris Olympics. As he wants to keep playing on clay to get used to the surface more, he won’t be participating in grass-court events. 

The tennis matches in the Paris Olympics will be played on the Roland Garros courts, so Nadal, who will pair up with fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz for the doubles event, will participate in a clay-court event in Sweden. The 14-time French Open champion, in a series of tweets, explained that it’s better for his body to keep playing on the red dirt and not change the surface. 

YouTube video
In order to prepare for the Olympic Games, I will play the tournament in Bastad, Sweden. A tournament that I played earlier in my career and where I had a great time both on and off the court. Looking forward to seeing you all there.
Rafael Nadal wrote on X 

Check the tweet here:

FS Video

The Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden is an ATP 250 event, scheduled to start on July 15. Nadal’s Olympic doubles partner Alcaraz will have to adapt himself to playing doubles as he has played alongside a partner in just nine matches. 

The 21-year-old won’t be missing Wimbledon as he will be on a quest to clinch his second title at the SW19. He recently surpassed Nadal to become the youngest player to win major titles on three different surfaces when he emerged victorious in the Roland Garros final in five sets against Germany’s Alexander Zverev. 

Rafael Nadal is the only active player to have won gold in singles and doubles in the Olympics

Rafael Nadal is an Olympic champion, having won the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The medal came after he became the World No.1 for the first time. In the final, he met Fernando Gonzalez and beat the Chilean with a scoreline of 6–3, 7–6(7-2), 6–3.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)

Another gold in the Olympics came in Rio in 2016 when he and Marc Lopez defeated Romania’s Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau in three sets 6–2, 3–6, 6–4. This made the Mallorcan the only active player to have won gold medals in singles and doubles matches in the prestigious event. 

The tennis events in the Olympics will take place from 27 July to 4 August. It will be the first time tennis matches at the Olympics will be played on the red dirt since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. 

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