Alcaraz, Nadal team up to play at Olympics

PARIS – Newly crowned French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and 14-time Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal will play at the Olympic Games next month, the Spanish tennis federation (RFET) announced Wednesday (Thursday Manila time).

World No. 2 Alcaraz last weekend claimed his third major title on the Roland Garros clay in Paris, where the Olympic tournament will take place from July 27 to August 4.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, only returned to competition last April after missing the best part of 16 months through injury and is currently ranked 264 in singles in the world.

In addition to the singles tournament, Alcaraz, 21, and Nadal, 38, will also take part in the Games' doubles event, confirmed by men's team coach David Ferrer.

Nadal won Olympic gold in singles in 2008 at Beijing and in doubles at the 2016 Rio Games.

The Spanish men's squad is completed by world number 32 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Pablo Carreno Busta and number two-ranked doubles player Marcel Granollers.

On the women's side, Spanish No. 1 Sara Sorribes and World No. 67 Cristina Bucsa have been included in the team.

Injury-plagued former World No. 2 Paula Badosa — now ranked 118 — will not be included in the squad for Paris.

"We have the chance of winning two or three medals (at the Olympics)," said RFET president Miguel Diaz Roman.

All national federations must produce their final list for the Games by June 19 at the latest.