Nadal will play the Bastad tournament before the Olympics (Sinner is also there), and will not play at Wimbledon

After Jannik, here is Rafa. The Bastad clay court summer tournament, a classic Swedish summer event, is enriched by another great champion: Nadal has decided to participate in the 250 on the shores of the North Sea to competitively prepare for the Olympic tournament, staged in Paris in Roland Garros venue at the end of July. The announcement comes from the Nordea Open, we report the tweet that certifies it: “We are happy to welcome back one of the greatest ever. Tennis lovers from all over the world, here you are… Rafael Nadal! We look forward to seeing you in Bastad next summer.”

In the past, Rafa played Bastad three times: the first, as a very young player in 2003, stopped by the Ecuadorian Lapentti in the quarterfinals. In 2004, another stop in the quarterfinals, this time at the hands of Gaudio’s super backhand, then in 2005 he won the tournament, shortly after having triumphed for the first time in Paris, lining up valuable people such as Monaco, Ferrero, Robredo and in the final Berdych . He never returned to Sweden. He will certainly receive a triumphant welcome from the local public – and from the tournament.

We remind you that Bastad is also expecting Jannik Sinner, who will also be preparing his condition on clay in the best possible way in view of the Olympics. Dreaming of a Jannik vs Rafa final… who knows.

After this news, Nadal announced his summer program with a social post: Olympics yes, Wimbledon and the entire grass season no. “During the post-match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and I have been training on clay ever since. Yesterday it was announced that I will be playing in the Paris Summer Olympics, my last Olympics. With this goal we believe that the best thing for my body is not to change surfaces and to continue playing on clay until then. This is why I will miss playing at the Wimbledon Championships this year. I am saddened that this year I will not be able to experience the fantastic atmosphere of that extraordinary event which will always be in my heart, and be with all the British fans who have always given me great support. I will miss you. To prepare for the Olympic Games, I will play the tournament in Bastad, Sweden. A tournament I played in early in my career and had a lot of fun both on and off the court. I can’t wait to see you all there”, these are the words of the Spaniard.

A certainly correct decision: changing surfaces with all the problems with Nadal’s legs could be very problematic.

Marco Mazzoni