Rafael Nadal cherishes the entire Olympic experience, which is why he chose to stay in the Olympic Village even though some of his colleagues, like Novak Djokovic, opted against it.
The stay in the Olympic Village is certainly one of the most iconic experiences of the Olympic Games. It's one of the things that makes the Games so special, as athletes cane be surrounded by athletes from their country and many other countries.
They are all together, bound by excellence in a particular sport, and for Nadal, it's certainly what would be described as the 'full experience.' Even so, nobody would argue that it's necessarily not the most comfortable experience as the rooms aren't really five-star hotel rooms.
We've seen players like Coco Gauff highlight that on social media, after which many American players left the Olympic Village in favor of a hotel. Djokovic is another player who didn't want any distractions during his stay in Paris, so he opted to stay with his family in a hotel.
For Nadal, it wasn't something he considered, even though his family is also with him in Paris. Some would argue that skipping on the hotel option is not the wisest decision and after his early exit from the event, some questioned his choice.
However, he explained his decision happily, admitting that being in the Village is simply part of the experience for him, and that's why he chose to stay there.
"I think to live the full experience you need to be in the village, that’s true. Of course for us it’s a little bit [less] comfortable and we are used to staying in hotels or houses with the things probably more comfortable than how the things are in the village but, I mean, when you are in the Olympics I think playing in an Olympic Games without being in the village is like playing another event."
Part of why Nadal is out of the Olympics, of course, is because he faced Djokovic early on. It had nothing to do with his stay in the Olympic Village. He's still in the doubles draw with Carlos Alcaraz and going strong, so clearly, the stay in the Olympic Village doesn't bother him there.
Overall, it's an interesting debate, especially in light of how other players like Gauff chimed in. Her viral post on social media highlighted that 10 girls only had two bathrooms between them, which some might consider lacking, especially for the biggest sporting event in the world.
In the grand scheme of things, it's very much a first-world problem, but as top athletes in the world, they're certainly used to a standard. For Nadal, it doesn't matter. He's always been a very humble player who didn't seek any special treatment most of the time.
After all, staying in the Olympic Village is something that many athletes have talked about as a great experience, so ultimately, it's about personal choice with everything else. For Djokovic, the choice is comfort above all, and that's valid as well.