On August 17th, 2008, exactly 15 years ago to this day, 🇪🇸 @RafaelNadal captured the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. 🏅 Nadal is one of only two men in tennis history, alongside Andre Agassi, with a Career Golden Slam—winning all four majors AND the Olympics in their career:
"A storybook ending": Rafael Nadal encouraged to play Paris Olympic Games by ITF
Tennis NewsTuesday, 31 October 2023 at 21:30
ITF Chief
David Haggerty announced the organization's support for Rafael Nadal to
participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The former
world No. 1 has been off the courts throughout 2023 due to a hip injury that
required surgery. His last match was at the 2023 Australian Open, where he fell
in the second round to Mackenzie McDonald.
Nadal has
already announced his plans to return in 2024, and it's expected to be his last
season as a professional. One of the significant challenges for the Spanish
player would be the Olympic Games in Paris, to be held on the courts of Roland
Garros, where Nadal has had the most success, winning 14 of his 22 Grand Slam
titles.
The Spanish
player has gold medals in singles from 2008 when he defeated Chilean Fernando
González in the final, and in 2016, he secured the gold medal alongside Marc
Lopez by defeating the Romanian duo of Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau.
Despite
being a two-time Olympic medalist, Nadal's presence in the tournament is not
guaranteed, as his long absence may affect his ranking and his participation in
the Davis Cup team during the past year, which are part of the requirements for
qualification.
Regarding
this, David Haggerty, President of the ITF, stated that the organization is
fully committed to supporting Nadal's participation in the tournament.
"We
know what a champion he is and a medallist a number of times so it certainly
could be a storybook ending, so to speak, for him. It would be great. Whether
he does or not, will be up to him," he said.
"But
we'll do everything we can to encourage him to play, because I think it would
be great. Knowing that it's in Paris, at Roland Garros, where he's had such
tremendous success would be a great venue for him to be able to compete
at."
"I
think the main thing for him is just being healthy and feeling he can compete
at the level that he wants to, because that's the kind of competitor he is. He
wants to be at the top of his game and we wish him the best," Haggerty
added.
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