In the end, it wasn’t meant to be for Rafael Nadal. The 2024 Paris Olympic Games presented the Spaniard with one final realistic shot at attaining glory before calling time on his illustrious career. However, with his doubles loss yesterday, the Spaniard bowed out of the Paris Olympics in what was a heartbreaking moment for him and his fans. Nadal and his partner, Carlos Alcaraz, went down fighting against Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram of the United States in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Shortly after their defeat, Nadal made a grim admission about his future prospects.

Earlier this year, Nadal stated that the ongoing season might be the final one of his illustrious career. At 38, Nadal is battling several injuries and poor form and feels that the time has come for him to hang his boots. During the post-match interview, the 22-time Grand Slam champion revealed, “Well, in the end, a sad day because in the end, it was, I think that the most important goal I had left of the year, to be honest. I didn’t want to end without a special moment and it hasn’t been possible, has it?”

Nonetheless, Nadal admitted that he gave everything he had to make it count in Paris. After missing the Wimbledon Championships due to injuries, he participated in the Olympics despite not being 100% fit. Nadal further went on to add, “In the end I think we have generated everything. I will work, in fact, it has worked, hasn’t it? And we just haven’t been as successful as what we needed for to move forward and the others have been.”

He had already lost to Novak Djokovic in round 2, even though the surface was clay. The dream Spanish pairing had some hopes left but Nadal’s Olympics dreams have come crashing down.

Before the Olympic Games, Nadal also had a golden opportunity to win a title in Bastad. However, he lost against Nuno Borges in the summit clash. His long-time rival and close friend, Roger Federer, expressed shock over Nadal’s defeat.

Roger Federer sent a concerning message to Rafael Nadal

The Spaniard lost in the final against Borges, fighting as if he had run out of steam. He went down tamely in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. It was a concerning loss right before the Olympic Games and Federer had a message for his friend.

The Swiss maestro, in an interview with Vogue, revealed, “Three and two. Oh, God—yeah. I saw he was down 1-0, love-40. That’s the last time I checked, a few hours ago, but when I saw the score, I was like, Oh, no—I hope his body is okay. So, yeah—I do check in with the game almost daily to see scores and results.”

While it is unclear about Nadal’s next tournaments, he will play the Laver Cup later this year. With the Olympics dream crashed, the Spaniard will hope for redemption during the hard-court season. Additionally, the Laver Cup might potentially be Nadal’s last tournament and he would hope to find some joy before he bids adieu to the tennis world.