Rafa Nadal has revealed he’s likely to withdraw from the singles tennis competition at the Paris Olympics and ruin a potential blockbuster clash with Novak Djokovic. The 38-year-old all-but ruled himself out of taking part in the singles after advancing to the second round of the doubles with Carlos Alcaraz.
Nadal picked up a thigh injury in training ahead of the Olympics, and flagged his intention to focus on doubles only. As of Saturday, the 14-time grand slam champion was still listed to face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics on Sunday, with Djokovic lying in wait in the second round.
Djokovic had earlier completed his part of the bargain with a brutal demolition of Aussie veteran Matthew Ebden, winning 6-0 6-1. But Nadal revealed after his doubles win: “I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know if I am going to play tomorrow or not. I will talk to my people and make the smartest decision that I can to have the best chance of bringing a medal home, so let’s see.”
Nadal is playing in what will likely be the final year of his storied career. He’s only managed to play seven events so far in 2024 as injuries continue to hamper him. He teamed up with Spanish wiz-kid Alcaraz to beat Argentinian duo Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in their doubles opener on Saturday.
Alcaraz had earlier enjoyed a winning start to his Olympic Games career when he swept aside Hady Habib of Lebanon 6-3 6-1 in the singles. “It was an incredible experience, the energy of the crowd was crazy,” he said.
Djokovic brushed Ebden aside in just 53 minutes and said he was looking forward to the prospect of taking on Nadal. “If we face each other, it’s possibly going to be for the last time on the big stage,” said the Serb.
Novak Djokovic calls for rule change after farcical Aussie scenes
However Djokovic wasn’t impressed by the calibre of his Aussie opponent and called for changes to the Olympic tennis entry rules. Ebden was a late inclusion in the singles competition after a number of withdrawals – including high-profile players Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.
Under Olympic rules, only players who are entered into other events (doubles or mixed doubles) can replace them if the withdrawal comes after the draw is completed, rather than the next best singles player in the world. The rules led to farcical scenes of doubles specialist Edben playing singles – even though he hasn’t played a tour-level event in singles in two years – and is effectively retired from individual competition.
Ebden is the World No.3 player in men’s doubles but doesn’t even have a ranking in singles, while Habib is World No.275 in singles. Speaking after thrashing Ebden, Djokovic called on the rules to be changed.
“I really don’t understand the rules, they’re really not logical for me,” said the 24-time grand slam champion. “I don’t think it’s a good image for the sport, to be honest. There were a lot of singles players that had plenty of time, that were alternates, that could have been called to come. I really hope the ITF (International Tennis Federation) along with the Olympics will consider changing this rule.
Ebden was at risk of an embarrassing double bagel at 6-0 4-0 down, but sparked roars from the crowd when he finally won his first game of the match. The Aussie broke into a huge smile, stretched his arms out wide and pulled his yellow Australia shirt over his head to celebrate.
“I’m sorry for Matt, he told me at the net it was his first match for two years and he’s officially retired from his singles career,” Djokovic said after completing the 53-minute rout. “Obviously, he’s focused on doubles so it was tough for him.
