Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will kick off their Olympic campaign against Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni at Court Philippe Chatrier in the night session on Saturday.
Rafa and Carlitos have a similar style of play and both possess deadly forehands. It remains to be seen which of them will lead with the forehand and who will play on the backhand.
Date: July 27, 2024
Match time: Not before 7 PM local time / 1 PM EDT – New York, Montreal / 6 PM BST – United Kingdom / 7 PM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / 7 PM SAST – South Africa / 10:30 PM IST – New Delhi / 3 AM AEST – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Since Rafa did not participate in two scheduled practice sessions at Roland Garros on Thursday and was seen wearing a wrap on his upper right leg during practice on Wednesday, his coach Carlos Moya told Onda Cero, a Spanish radio station: “It was a setback, and we decided that today Rafa would rest and not train so he could recover. We are going to give ourselves 48 hours. We have to wait.”
Our champ is bidding to become the 4th player in history, man or woman, to win 3 or more Olympic gold medals in tennis – after Venus and Serena Williams (who have won 4 gold medals each) and Reginald Doherty (who won 3 gold medals). He is also bidding to become the 4th player in history (and first man) to win a medal at 3 different Olympic Games.
Good luck & Vamos Nadalcaraz!
Alcaraz has announced that he will not attend the opening ceremony due to having to play on Saturday. I imagine Rafa will skip it also. It’s a shame that the scheduling didn’t work out for them as it is sure to be spectacular.
Latest news this morning, says that Rafa is practicing today with tape on his thigh, so I think that is good news, that he didn’t need to rest for 48 hours as Carlos mentioned, but must have felt good enough today to get back on court. Vamos Rafa!!
The official Olympic schedule shows men’s and women’s singles for the night session on Chatrier on Saturday. Are you sure this is right?
So basically Rafa has today- Thursday- and Friday off, no practice. I don’t know about singles but I can’t see Rafa withdrawing from the Saturday doubles match. Go Rafa and Carlos! Vamos!
I agree… He’ll be there…
This morning, as a season ticket holder to the US Open, I woke up to an email from the OPEN that read … US Open Men’s Draw 2024…and on page 1 of 4 there it was “Rafael Nadal”… and even though there was talk about Rafa playing the Open, to see him on the draw, all I could think of was dreams do come true… One…more….time…
Take it easy in Paris Rafa…no injuries please…❤️
VAMOS RAFA!!
Rafa told Spanish media two days ago that he will take time off after the Olympics to decide his future plans. So far his only commitment is to Laver Cup. As you are well aware entry lists are only preliminary. That fact however has never stopped tournament directors from using them to sell tickets! I do hope though that he will play in New York one last time.