Rafael Nadal clears air around his Tokyo Olympics participation

Rafael Nadal has been one of the most successful tennis player in the history of the game. His record on Clay remains unmatched and his title hauls are the perfect testimony of his achievements.

He is currently on 88 career titles, that puts him 4th in the Open Era for career titles, however there is one very special distinction that he boasts over the active players that includes his fellow Big 3 members Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

While many players have held all four Grand Slams, no one could achieve it with the Olympic Gold until Rafael Nadal succeeded in doing so for nearly a decade. With his Singles Gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and long awaited US Open title in 2010, Nadal became the 2nd man to achieve the Career Golden Slam behind American great Andre Agassi who achieved it in 1999.

Nadal made his Olympic debut at the 2004 Athens Olympics where he could not win any medal. He then participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics winning the Singles Gold.

He had to pull out from the 2012 London Olympics due to a season ending injury, but participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics winning the Gold in Doubles category, finishing 4th in the Singles category.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics had to be postponed by a year due to the Pandemic and are set to be held this year. But with the rise in cases, this year’s edition is also under threat and many players have weighed in their opinion on the mega sports event.

Speaking about his participation in this year’s Olympics, the Spaniard said, “I am turning 35 in a few days, I have to listen to my body. I will make a decision when the time comes.”. While this confirms that Nadal is yet to make his decision about the Olympics, the 2-time Gold Medallist will definitely be missed in case he decides not to participate.

Rafael Nadal is the only active men’s player with a Career Golden Slam, 2nd in history behind Andre Agassi

Rafael Nadal is the only active player and just the 2nd man in the history of tennis to win a Career Golden Slam. Career Golden Slam is achieved when any player wins all the Grand Slams while also wins the Gold Medal in Olympics.

While many have achieved it in the Doubles event, in the singles event only two players have been able to do it in the singles event. Andre Agassi‘s 1996 Olympics Gold and French Open triumph in 1999, he completed his Career Golden Slam making him the first man to achieve it.

While the long tennis season in 2021 is set to go as per schedule, the postponed Tokyo Olympics are set to be conducted this year in the month of July. While the controversy about the Olympics games continues, players are in doubts about their participation due to the rising cases in Japan.

Rafael Nadal is set to play next at the 2021 French Open where he will be defending his 13th title while also chasing his 14th French Open title and his 21st Grand Slam.

Also Read: Why is Roger Federer in favour to postpone the Tokyo Olympics 2020 ?

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