While doubts still swirl about his participation at the French Open, Rafael Nadal is at least excited about the prospect of partnering fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics this year.
Singles world No. 3 Alcaraz has previously expressed his desire to play alongside the tennis icon, who is winding down his career after being plagued by injuries over the past year.
A hip issue kept Nadal sidelined for most of last season, and the Madrid Open is just his third tournament this year.
He says he shares Alcaraz’s wish, and hopes that the pair can get some time together on the court before the tennis competition at the Games, which will take place on clay at Roland-Garros where Nadal has won 14 major titles.
Both players are competing at the Madrid Open this week and Nadal spoke on the IGUALES podcast, putting an admittedly nervous Alcaraz at ease about partnering up.
“Carlos doesn’t have to ask me anything, all things being well, we’ll play,” Nadal said. “It’s also hugely exciting for me. If I’m not mistaken, I’ve heard it is for him too.
“So it would be great to play the odd tournament before the Olympics to prepare ourselves and to get some rapport on court.”
Nadal recently returned to competition in Brisbane in January before a thigh issue arose, returning in Barcelona earlier this month where he lost to Alex de Minaur in the second round.
He played his first match in Madrid on Thursday, cruising past 16-year-old Darwin Blanch, but was clear that his body didn’t feel tested and his participation at Roland-Garros is still up in the air.
Despite that, the 37-year-old is eyeing up a third gold medal in Paris this summer after triumphing in singles in the 2008 Beijing Games and doubles eight years later in Rio, while Alcaraz will be making his Olympic debut.
“I think if we’re both fit enough, why not? We could have the chance to form a great team and aspire to great things,” Nadal said of the partnership.
“It would be good for both of us. It would also be good for the Spanish team, so we’ll see how things progress.”
Nadal, a five-times champion in Madrid, faces Australian 10th seed De Minaur again on Saturday, in a second-round match.