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22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal’s return on the clay court at the prestigious French Open 2024 ended in a sour note with his first round exit on Monday, May 27. The 37-year-old was knocked out of the Frenc h Open after his defeat against Alexander Zverev 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.
However, the 14-time champion on the clay returned in his first Grand Slam of the year after missing the Australian Open earlier this year, his stay was short lived and eventually ended after a battle of three hours and five minutes. After his third loss at the French Open, the former World No. 1 also hinted of missing the Wimbledon 2024. However, he did not confirm it but cited 2024 Paris Olympics ahead as the possible reason.
“For me now it looks difficult to make a transition to grass, then having the Olympics again on clay. I cannot confirm anything. I need to talk with the team and analyse facts,” Nadal said.
“But I don’t think it’s going to be smart after all the things that happened to my body to make a big transition to a completely different surface and then come back immediately to clay. I cannot tell you if I will be playing or not in one month and a half, because my body has been a jungle for two years,” he added.
It is to be noted that the sport of tennis in 2024 Paris Olympics will be played on clay courts. The matches will be held on the home of French Open from 27 July to 4 August. Moreover, there will be five events at the Games - men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles.
Although the final list of 2024 Paris Olympics participants will be published by July 8, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal will be some obvious players. Also it is highly likely that Nadal will feature in his final Olympic Games, which are scheduled to be played in the French capital from July 26 to August 11.
