Rafael Nadal has officially entered the Nordea Open after deciding not to play Wimbledon. The 22-time Grand Slam champion has his sights set on the Olympics, with the tennis event being played on the clay courts at Roland Garros.
Given all of his physical issues over the last couple of years, the Spaniard doesn’t want to jeopardise his body by switching to grass courts and back to clay again.
But he is still keen to get some matches in before Paris 2024 and he has signed up to an ATP 250 event in the week after Wimbledon to do just that.
Nordea Open organisers confirmed Nadal’s participation on Thursday. “We are excited to welcome back, one of the greatest of all time,” they wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“Tennis lovers worldwide, let us present…. …Rafael Nadal Can’t wait to have you back in Bastad this summer.” The tournament takes place from July 15 to 21 and already has a strong field for an ATP 250 event in the week after a Grand Slam.
New world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is among the players previously announced to compete in Bastad with Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev and Cameron Norrie also on the list. It could change depending on how well they do at Wimbledon but it’s no surprise the top players want to get used to the clay before the Olympics.
Nadal’s participation in the Olympics was confirmed by the Spanish Tennis Federation on Wednesday. The 38-year-old is using his protected ranking of No. 9 to enter the tennis contest. Carlos Alcaraz, Pablo Carreno Busta and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will also represent Spain in the singles.
Nadal will also compete in the men’s doubles draw in a highly-anticipated partnership with Alcaraz. Nadal already has gold medals in both singles and doubles from 2008 and 2016 respectively.
Alcaraz could decide to join Nadal in Bastad so they can practice for the doubles together. But the world No. 2 will likely have his sights set on Wimbledon, where he is the defending champion. He has already all but ruled out playing doubles with Nadal before the Olympics.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk