Paris Olympics 2024: Rafael Nadal To Play Doubles With Carlos Alcaraz For Spain

PARIS: 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will team up with newly crowned French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz for the men's doubles event at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, which will be played from July 26 to August 11.

David Ferrer, the captain of the Spanish team, confirmed on Wednesday that Nadal has been chosen to represent the Spanish contingent in the singles and doubles competition.

The young Spanish prodigy and the veteran player will pair up for the first time ever. They look like a formidable team on paper and will certainly be one of the favorites to go all the way and bring laurels to their country.

Their prospects will get a further boost due to the fact that the tennis competition at the upcoming Olympic Games will be played on the clay courts of Paris.

It is because Nadal, the 14-time Roland Garros champion, is known for his exploits in clay and has achieved tremendous success in this surface over the years, earning him the title of 'King of Clay'. To add to it, his partner Carlos Alcaraz has just recently won the French Open title.

Rafael Nadal had been vocal about representing Spain in the Paris Olympics in what is expected to be his final year on the ATP tour as a professional.

Nadal had reiterated his commitment to playing in the Olympics following his shocking first round exit in the French Open in May.

It is worth mentioning that Rafa has been battling with injuries in the past few years and it has taken a toll on his tennis career.

"My body has been a jungle for two years. You don't know what to expect. I wake up one day and I find a snake biting me. Another day a tiger. I have been fighting with all the things that I went through. But the dynamic is positive the last few weeks. I felt ready. I think tomorrow I'll be ready to play again if I have to. But I will not have to," Nadal said after his first-round loss to Alexander Zverev at this year's French Open.

"So that's the thing. Now, I need to prepare myself, I need to clear my ideas and see what's the new calendar to try to be ready for Olympics. I can't say anything today, but my main goal now is to play the Olympics," he added.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal had clinched the coveted Olympic Gold in singles in 2008 in Beijing and won the doubles Gold along with Marc Lopez in the Rio Games in 2016. 

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