Rafa Nadal, winner of 22 Grand Slams, will compete in the Paris Olympics, probably the last of his career due to injuries. Nadal will play against his great heir in Spanish tennis, Carlos Alcaraz, in the doubles.
How many Olympics has Rafa Nadal competed in?
So far this century, the Manacor native has competed in the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016 Games, while he was absent from London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 due to physical problems.
How many Olympic medals does Nadal have?
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal reached the pinnacle of his Olympic career by winning the gold medal in the men’s singles competition. On his way to Olympic glory, Rafael Nadal beat Potito Starace in the first round, followed that up with a win over Lleyton Hewitt in the second round, and in the third round he beat Igor Andreev. In the quarter-finals, Nadal defeated Jurgen Melzer and in the semi-finals he recorded a thrilling 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory over then world number three Novak Djokovic.
In the final, Nadal faced Chilean Fernando González, whom he defeated by scores of 6-3, 7-6 and 6-3. Thus, he secured his place in history by becoming the first Spanish tennis player to win Olympic gold in singles.
The second gold, in doubles
At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, Rafael Nadal continued his success by winning his second Olympic gold, this time in men’s doubles alongside Marc López.
The Spanish duo beat the Dutchmen Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer, the Argentines Juan Martín del Potro and Máximo González, the Austrians Oliver Marach and Alexander Peya, and the Canadians Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil. In the final, they won 6-2, 3-6 and 6-4 against the Romanians Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea.
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