Olympics: Tennis star Rafael Nadal owns two gold medals
22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal is among the set of tennis stars who will feature at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nadal, who has had fitness issues due to injuries of late, recently made a return at the Swedish Open. He lost the final to Nuno Borges. The Spaniard would enter Roland Garros, Paris Games tennis event venue, with two gold medals.
2008 Beijing Olympics: Gold medal in his first shot
Nadal made his first Olympics appearance at the 2008 Beijing Games. The Spaniard defeated Serbian ace Novak Djokovic in the men's singles semi-finals. Nadal then beat Chile's Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 in the summit clash to win his maiden Olympic gold medal. The Spanish star displaced Roger Federer at the top of the ATP Rankings thereafter.
2016 Rio Olympics: Gold in doubles
At the Rio 2016 Games, Nadal lost his men's singles bronze medal clash to Kei Nishikori. The Spaniard earlier defeated Thomaz Bellucci in the quarter-final, which gave him his 800th career win. Nadal later won the gold medal in men's doubles segment for Spain. Nadal, along with his partner Marc Lopez, overcame Romania's Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau in the final.
Gold medals across segments; career Golden Slam
Nadal became the second man in the Open Era to clinch gold medals in both singles and doubles at Olympics. Notably, the Spaniard is one of only two men with career Golden Slams (winning all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold).
Nadal missed London and Tokyo Games
Nadal pulled out of the 2012 London Olympics after suffering from tendinitis in his knee. The Spaniard also opted out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as he sustained a recurring foot injury.
