Spain’s Rafael Nadal has confirmed he will compete in all three tennis events at the Rio Olympics despite being not at his best after being sidelined with a wrist injury since May.
There were doubts whether the 2008 gold medallist, who withdrew from the French Open and missed Wimbledon, would recover in time to compete at the Games.
After two days of training in Rio de Janeiro alongside compatriot David Ferrer, Nadal told reporters yesterday: “It’s evident that the condition of my wrist is not ideal and if it wasn’t the Olympic Games, I would not take this risk.
“However, having spoken to my team and with Conchita (Martinez), I’ve decided to play the singles and everything else.
“There is always a risk but I trained six hours between Monday and Tuesday and although the wrist still bothers me, at least it hasn’t worsened and that is great news.”
The 14-time grand slam champion, 30, missed the Olympics four years ago with a knee injury.
World number five Nadal, who is due to be Spain’s flag bearer, will compete in the singles event and also take part with Marc Lopez in the doubles and Garbine Muguruza in the mixed doubles.