Rafael Nadal's injury setback derails Paris Olympics preparation, gives retirement decision update

4 months ago | 47 Views

In what is probably his swansong year, Rafael Nadal is probably participating in his final Olympics, and will be featuring in the men's singles and doubles tennis events. In Paris, he will also be looking to get his third Olympic gold, having bagged a singles medal in Beijing 2008 and in men's doubles in 2016.

If the Spaniard wins a medal at the Paris Olympics, it will be special as the tennis matches will be held at Roland Garros, where he has won the French Open a record 14 times.

Speaking on his future plans, Nadal didn't make any retirement statement and revealed that he would make a decision after the Paris Olympics and also confirmed his Laver Cup participation.

"Nothing is linear in this life. There are moments and states which normally go hand in hand with physical states. I try to enjoy and live what I feel at each moment," he said.

"Always with a positive vision of what my day-to-day is within my possibilities. After this, I am going to take some time to think carefully about what I need for myself as a person, what I really want to do. I will play the Laver Cup. After the Games, I will take some time to think carefully about what I need."

Recently, media reports stated that Nadal was dealing with an injury which ended his practice session on Thursday. Speaking on Spanish radio, his coach Carlos Moya said, "He had some discomfort yesterday (Wednesday) morning. In the afternoon he was more limited and before it got worse he decided to stop."

"Don't force it at the moment and see if he recovers well. We will see what condition he's in tomorrow and Saturday."

"I can't guarantee anything, neither that he won't play or he will play. At the moment he needs to rest, undergo treatment. He is obviously very excited to play these Olympics. It has been something marked on his calendar for years."

"He is a born competitor and wants to play singles and doubles. He's very excited about the doubles with Alcaraz. It will be the first time they have played together and it will be something historic for Spanish tennis," Moya added.

Rafael Nadal will face Hungary's Marton Fucsovics in the men's singles first round, and if he wins, he could face Novak Djokovic, who will need to win his first round fixture vs Matthew Ebden.