Later this summer at the Swedish Open, Rafael Nadal will play doubles with Casper Ruud as the Spaniard prepares for his final Olympic Games campaign.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner declared last month that he would skip Wimbledon and the grass-court season to concentrate on playing in Paris in 2024. A past winner in both singles and doubles, the 38-year-old will compete in the Olympics on clay at Roland Garros, the site of his 14 French Open victories.
Nadal is definitely attempting to make the most of his time on the court as he attempts to add to his two Olympic gold medals. Nadal is paired with Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster doubles match at the Olympics.
Earlier in the season, the former world number one was revealed as a wildcard for the Swedish Open in Bastad in the singles category. However, on Wednesday, it was revealed that he and Ruud will also compete in doubles.
It’s difficult to predict how big of a threat Nadal could be at the Olympics, which begin later this month, so all eyes will be on how he does in the singles and doubles at Bastad.
🇪🇸🤝🇳🇴 We’re happy to announce that Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud will join forces and compete in this year’s doubles tournament in Båstad.
Will they have a shot at the double’s title and do you have a suitable name on this power combo?#nordeaopen #båstad #tennis #atp pic.twitter.com/LwEpder0kP
— Nordea Open (@NordeaOpen) July 3, 2024
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Currently ranked no.265, the Spaniard played his last match on the 27th of May when he capitulated to world no.4 Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 in the 1st round of the French Open (draw).
Currently, during this year the Spaniard has a composed 7-5 match record.
Nadal has scheduled to play next in Bastad (Nordea Open). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 15th of July using a wild card.
Casper Ruud in 2024
WLLLLWLLLW Currently the world no.8, the Norwegian played his last match on the 3rd of July when he was overcome by world no.94 Fabio Fognini 6-4 7-5 6-7(1) 6-3 in the 2nd round in Wimbledon (draw).
Until now, during this year Ruud achieved a composed 40-11 win-loss record. Casper has won 2 titles in 2024 in Barcelona and Geneva. The Norwegian was the finalist in Los Cabos, Acapulco and Monte-Carlo.
Casper Ruud will compete against the world no.74 Thiago Seyboth Wild in the final. Their head to head is 1-0 for Seyboth Wild.
Ruud clinched 2 titles in 2024 in Barcelona and Geneva. Casper reached the final in Los Cabos (Mifel Tennis Open), in Acapulco (Abierto Mexicano Telcel) and in Monte-Carlo (Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters).
Ruud won 12 titles in his career: 1 on hard courts and 11 on clay courts. (See the list of his titles)
Ruud will play next in Bastad (Nordea Open). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 15th of July.
Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud played each other just on 2 occasions. Their actual head to head record is 2-0 for Nadal. The last time they locked horns, Rafael Nadal won 7-5 7-5 in the round robin in Turin (Nitto ATP Finals) in November 2022.
In the following video you can watch the key moments of their match.
Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud |
| Embed from Getty Images |
