Carlos Alcaraz was going to be in the French city for the main event.
Carlos Alcaraz announced in a statement that he will not be attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris tonight.
Originally scheduled to attend the grand ceremony in the center of Paris, the Spaniard will instead observe from a distance.
Alcaraz announced the news on social media, writing: “I was thrilled to be able to attend the Olympic Opening Ceremony today with Spain, but I have two games tomorrow, so it’s best to rest and get ready! Now let’s get started!”
Alcaraz, who is expected to make his Games debut, does indeed have a busy agenda this Saturday.
He’ll be back later in the day to play his doubles match with Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay, so there won’t be much time for rest or recuperation.
Nicknamed “Nadalcaraz,” this fearsome team will take on the Argentine tandem of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni to start their joint quest for gold.
That’s only if Rafael Nadal is well, as the 22-time Grand Slam champion caused a stir when an injury worry surfaced ahead of their match on Saturday.
According to reports, Nadal postponed his practice session in Paris on Thursday due to a thigh issue.
The severity of his problem is unknown at this time, but as the 38-year-old is nearing the end of his playing days, any injury concerns may be fatal to both his and Alcaraz’s chances of winning gold.
Carlos Moya, Rafael Nadal’s coach, spoke on Radioestadio Noche in Spanish: “We decided that today Rafa would rest and not train to recover after it was a setback.”
“We have to wait; we’re going to give ourselves 48 hours. One can fall in love with the Nadal-Alcaraz twins.”
Nadal, who is competing in the singles as well, will have two chances to add a gold medal to his impressive trophy collection as this is almost definitely going to be his last Olympics.
If Rafael Nadal fulfills his lifelong ambition of winning an Olympic gold medal, he will become the first tennis player since Andre Agassi to win both an Olympic gold medal and all four Grand Slams.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic is also vying for the illusive gold medal in Paris, so Nadal won’t be the only one chasing this honor.
Tomorrow afternoon, Australian Matthew Ebden will be Djokovic’s first opponent in the singles competition.