Rafael Nadal chose not to overanalyze his performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, acknowledging that he simply didn’t perform well enough in singles and that he and his partner played poorly in doubles.
The 38-year-old Spaniard had high hopes for the Games, encouraged by his practice sessions and performance at the Bastad Open prior to the tournament. Despite this, few believed he could challenge for a medal in singles, as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic were seen as stronger contenders. There was some optimism for his doubles pairing with Alcaraz, especially after their strong opening match.
In singles, Nadal, a 22-time major winner, started well but encountered issues against Marton Fucsovics, making it clear that defeating Novak Djokovic in the second round would be unlikely. The tough draw proved unfortunate; with more matches, Nadal might have had a chance at a medal, but facing Djokovic so early highlighted his struggle to reach top form.
In doubles, Nadal and Alcaraz were eliminated by the strong pairing of Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek, who outperformed them. Nadal admitted he wasn’t good enough in singles and recognized their subpar performance in the doubles quarterfinal. “I haven’t been at the level I needed to fight for medals in the singles. In the doubles, we were playing at a very good level, but today we weren’t accurate,” he said. “As I’ve said every day, the matches go by very quickly and every little detail has its impact. Today we didn’t start well and we weren’t able to take the match to the limit.”
Overall, Nadal’s Olympic experience was mixed. While he didn’t achieve his best results, he valued the opportunity to compete, especially as he hadn’t anticipated participating in the 2024 Olympics years ago. Reflecting on his experience, he said, “The experience has been positive. We generated everything we had to generate to give ourselves a chance. We had a fantastic relationship, shared a lot off the court, and on it we were happy, motivated, excited.”
