Rafael Nadal has suffered a thigh injury that puts his participation in the Paris Olympics in doubt, his coach Carlos Moya has announced.
The 14-time French Open champion is due to play singles and men's doubles alongside rising star and teammate Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
"Yesterday morning he had some discomfort," Moya told Spanish radio.
"In the afternoon he was more limited and before it got worse, he decided to stop training," he added.
The 38-year-old Nadal did not train today, which Moya said was "the most responsible thing to do".
"I'm not pushing him right now and I'll see if he recovers well. We will see what condition he is in tomorrow and Saturday (July 26 and 27)," the coach added.
Nadal returned to tennis this year after a lengthy absence with a thigh injury. Last weekend he reached his first ATP final since winning the 2022 French Open in Bastad before losing to Portugal's Nuno Borges.
He will face Hungary's Marton Fucovic in the first round of singles on July 28, a day after partnering Alcaraz in doubles.
If Nadal beats Fuksovic, he will meet his old rival Novak Djokovic in the second round.
"I can't guarantee anything, neither that he won't play nor that he will play," Moya said. "At the moment he needs to rest, undergo treatment. Obviously, he's very excited to play in these Olympics. It's something that's been marked on his calendar for years. He's a born competitor and he wants to play singles and doubles. He is very excited about playing doubles with Alcaraz. They will play together for the first time, and it will be something historic for Spanish tennis," he added.
Nadal is a two-time Olympic champion, having won singles gold in Beijing in 2008 and doubles gold at the 2016 Rio Games alongside Mark Lopez. | BGNES
