Rafael Nadal will make a rare appearance at the Nordea Open–his first in 19 years to be exact–in preparation for the Paris Olympics at Roland Garros. It is July 15-21 during the post-Wimbledon clay-court swing.
“In order to prepare for the Olympic Games, I will play the tournament in Bastad, Sweden, a tournament that I played earlier in my career and where I had a great time both on and off the court,” Nadal wrote via social media on Thursday. “Looking forward to seeing you all there. Thank you.”
The 37-year-old Spaniard won the Bastad title in 2005, beating Tomas Berdych in the final. His two other appearances in 2003 and 2004 resulted in quarterfinal losses.
Nadal is expected to play both singles and doubles (with reigning French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz) in the Paris Games. The tennis event is scheduled for July 27-August 4.
Unsurprisingly, the 2024 tennis schedule is such that Nadal does not want to transition from clay to grass and then back to clay. As such, the 22-time Grand Slam champ also announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon on Thursday.
“During my post match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practicing on clay,” he reflected. “It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics. With this goal, we believe that the best for my body is not to change surface and keep playing on clay until then.
“It’s for this reason that I will miss playing at The Championships this year at Wimbledon. I am saddened not to be able to live this year the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart, and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all.”
Nadal’s comeback from a hip injury included four clay-court events during the spring swing. He lost in the Barcelona second round, the Madrid fourth round, the Rome second round, and the French Open first round to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev.
a tournament he could win