 "Rafael Nadal of Spain during training at Roland Garros for the Paris Olympics. Reuters")
Rafael Nadal has suffered a thigh injury during practice to put his participation at the Paris Olympics in doubt, his coach Carlos Moya has said.
The 14-time French Open winner had entered the men’s singles and doubles events alongside rising star Carlos Alcaraz.
“He had some discomfort yesterday (Wednesday) morning,” Moya told Spanish radio.
“In the afternoon he was more limited and before it got worse he decided to stop.”
The 38-year-old Nadal did not train on Thursday, which the former tennis player Moya said was “the most responsible thing to do”.
“Don’t force it at the moment and see if he recovers well,” he added. “We will see what condition he’s in tomorrow and Saturday.”
Nadal returned to competitive action this year after a lengthy absence with a hip injury, reaching his first ATP final since 2022 in Bastad last weekend before losing to Nuno Borges .
The Spaniard is scheduled to face Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the singles first round on Sunday, the day after partnering Alcaraz in the doubles.
If Nadal beats Fucsovics, he would set up a possible second round meeting with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.
“I can’t guarantee anything, neither that he won’t play or he will play,” said Moya. “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.”
Nadal is a two-time Olympic champion, having won singles gold in Beijing in 2008, and doubles gold at the 2016 Rio Games alongside Marc Lopez.