Rafael Nadal arrived at the Olympic village with his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz. The 22-time Grand Slam champion reached the final at Bastad last week, but he has confessed that he is not satisfied with his current level.
Rafa risked against all the opponents at Bastad and was defeated very clearly by Nuno Borges in the final. The former world number 1 is training hard to find an acceptable form, but physical problems and old age prevent him from playing with the same intensity as in the past.
The Spanish legend will be one of the main attractions of the Olympic tournament, which will be played on the same surface as the French Open. Rafa must also hope for a favorable draw, avoiding perhaps the big favorites such as Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.
According to many experts, Nadal has more chance of winning a medal in doubles together with Alcaraz. The young Spaniard has just won the 2024 French Open and the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, beating seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final. The Olympic tournament will start on Saturday, July 27th and end on Sunday, August 4th. It is not clear what Rafa’s future will be after the Paris Olympics. Although he appears in the entry list of the US Open, Nadal has not confirmed his presence in New York. Rafa will miss the Masters 1000 in Montreal and Cincinnati, while he will be present at the Laver Cup at the end of September.
Rafa is getting ready
Meanwhile, the first pictures and videos have arrived from Paris. Rafa Nadal has already started training on the Philippe Chatrier, the famous court that made him an icon of modern sport. During a recent interview with Clay, top coach Brad Gilbert reflected on Nadal’s current level: “He will probably never reach his best level again, but I think above all else, every athlete wants to be able to retire in his own way.
He wants to be and decide that maybe it’s time to stop. He’s had so many injuries in the last two years that he probably hasn’t had a period where he really felt healthy. And that’s what he wants to know more than anything, before he stops, what his game is like when he’s completely healthy.”
Despite the final reached in Bastad, Rafa did not seem happy: “The level was so far from what it should be. Probably the energy too. It has been a long week with long matches. Even if my body, I don’t have damage, that’s important – but mentally and physically, I’m not used to playing four days in a row and playing long matches. I need to analyse well and find the reason why I played that way, even if the energy wasn’t right. Things like this can happen, and that’s the situation. I don’t have to lie or hide anything. I arrived here with the feeling that I was playing a good level and I was not able to show that during the whole week. That is something that I am not happy with. Anyway it’s a final, so I can’t say it’s a bad result because it’s the first final since a long time ago. But I was not able to feel myself comfortable enough during the whole week to be satisfied with the week of tennis that I played.”
Nadal’s serve is the main problem
2024 was supposed to be used by Rafa to play as many tournaments as possible and greet his fans. After playing in Brisbane earlier this year, Nadal suffered a groin injury and was out for months. The Spaniard was unable to play in the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, while he did not shine in Madrid and Rome. At the French Open he was not lucky, having to face Sascha Zverev in the first round. Rafa played a good match against the German on Philippe Chatrier, but he was forced to give up.
The shot that Rafa is struggling with right now is definitely the serve. The Spanish legend suffered many breaks during the tournament of Bastad, not being able to find a solution for the whole tournament. The serve is probably the most pressing blow to his abs and your speeds are still quite low. Nadal rarely exceeds 170-180 km/h and the opponents have a chance to respond aggressively.
Despite the current difficulties, the 22-time Grand Slam champion does not intend to give up. The result of these Olympics will be important for his future. If he realizes that he is no longer competitive, Nadal may decide to retire.
