Rafael Nadal has explained why he opted to stay in the Olympic village despite being arguably one of the biggest names at this year’s Games.
The Spaniard believes that competitors can’t get the full experience if they don’t fully immerse themselves, even if that means being uncomfortable.
It comes after Novak Djokovic snubbed the athlete complex to stay in his own accommodation during his quest for a gold medal.
Nadal has understandably been one of the most popular faces in the athlete village. Over the last week, other sportspeople have thrown themselves at the chance to take a selfie with the 22-time Grand Slam champion around the grounds.
His compatriot and doubles partner for the Olympics, Carlos Alcaraz, is also living in the village. While it’s a long way away from the usual comforts of a luxury hotel or house, the 38-year-old claimed that it wouldn’t feel like the Olympics unless he got stuck in.
“I think to live the full experience you need to be in the village, that’s true,” Nadal said after losing to Djokovic in the singles event.
Of course for us it’s a little bit [less] comfortable and we are used to staying in hotels or houses with the things probably more comfortable than how the things are in the village but, I mean, when you are in the Olympics I think playing in an Olympic Games without being in the village is like playing another event.”
While travelling around the world to compete might not be as common in other sports, tennis players spend their careers hopping from country to country and living in hotels. And Nadal was happy to give that routine a miss for the Olympics.
He added: “So it’s only once every four years and for me, personally, don’t make sense to stay in a hotel. We stay in a hotel every single week.” But it made sense for his conqueror, as Djokovic chose not to stay in Team Serbia’s block in the village in favour of a more private living space.
The world No. 2 stayed in the village during the Tokyo 2020 Games, which were postponed by a year. At the time, he said: “I’m enjoying every second, in a place with more than 10,000 athletes, exchanging knowledge, life stories and things about sports. You don’t get that kind of experience anywhere else.”
But Djokovic isn’t taking any risks as he hunts for a maiden gold medal. His best showing so far has been a bronze medal win in Beijing 2008. He lost the bronze medal play-off matches in London and Tokyo, and he was ousted by Juan Martin del Potro in the first round of the Rio 2016 Games.
