Rafael Nadal may not play singles at the Paris Olympic Games in a crushing development for the Spaniard at his final tilt at the summer tournament with physical problems developing over the course of Thursday.
Nadal had to skip training early on Thursday due to a right thigh problem and according to Spanish sports website Relevo, the atmosphere in Nadal's circle is 'not exactly optimistic' and plan B is to concentrate on doubles with Alcaraz and not play singles.
The draw could be a deciding factor too. He is slated to have a tough two ties with Marton Fucsovics up first and potentially Novak Djokovic in the second round. Earlier on, he cancelled his training session with Alexander Zverev soon after the draw as concerns grew and those extend to a certain Carlos Moya, his coach.
“I can’t say for sure that Nadal will play," he said as per the same report. “We want to give him 48 hours to see how he is improving and how he is recovering and well, if everything goes normal and everything goes well, then on Saturday he will jump (to the court)."
Supposedly these concerns were thus on Tuesday as the Spaniard said 'I'm not well' and 'I have to rest'. “He already rested on Monday, he came from a tough week in Bastad, and on Tuesday we resumed very slowly, very calm, knowing that, well, there was fatigue," he continued. "Yesterday [Wednesday] was a very good day, both training singles in the morning and doubles in the afternoon, in the afternoon we could already feel that little problem and, well, we decided that the best and most coherent thing to do was to rest, to have treatment at the villa, to rest and give him time to recover”.
He said also that they will give it 48 hours, he isn't slated to play singles until Sunday at Roland Garros so a decision is likely imminent.
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👇 I wasn’t going to comment on this, but now a member of Rafa’s team has commented on it:
- Rafa had some discomfort in his right thigh/hamstring during doubles practice yesterday 🤕
- He cancelled his two scheduled practices today ❌
- Moyà: “It was a setback and we
Radioestadio Noche
@RadioestadioN
🔊 @Charlymoya con @Rafael_Plaza
"Ha sido un contratiempo y hemos decidido que hoy Rafa descansase y no entrenase para recuperar"
"Vamos a darnos 48 horas, hay que esperar"
"El doble Nadal-Alcaraz es para enamorar"