Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will represent Spain as a tennis doubles pair at the Paris Olympics, which opens on July 26.
Former world No. 3 and current Spanish national team selector David Ferrer announced at a Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) press conference on Wednesday that the Spanish men’s team will include 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, three-time Grand Slam champion Grand Slam champion Alcaraz. Also included is doubles specialist Marcel Granollers, whose partnership with Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos currently ranks No. 1 in the world overall.
Ferrer said he believed Nadal and Alcaraz “have the ability to win doubles medals” following the team’s announcement.
This will be Alcaraz’s first appearance at the Olympics, having previously defended his title at Wimbledon, which begins on July 1, and defeated Alexander Zverev in the French Open final last Sunday. Nadal is currently No. 10 on the Wimbledon list with a protected injury, but said after withdrawing from Roland Garros that it was “not a good idea” to play.
Nadal, who already won singles gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and doubles gold with Marc Lopez in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, will compete in his final Olympics. Although he has not announced a retirement date, he has not ruled out returning to the 2025 French Open after losing to Zverev in the first round this year.
Meanwhile, Paula Badosa will not compete due to WTA rules. Badosa has chosen to use her protected injury ranking to compete in the next two Grand Slam tournaments, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, which begins in late August. The former world number two is not allowed to use the ranking at tournaments and the Olympics. Sara Sorribes Tormo and Cristina Bucsa will represent the Spanish women’s football team.
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