Rafael Nadal won't be doing double duty at the 2024 Bastad Open because the Spaniard withdrew from his doubles match with Casper Ruud.
'Ruudal', as fans name them, were having a solid time this week in Bastad, as the duo was playing well enough to make the semi-final of the ATP 250 doubles tournament, which they should have contested on Saturday evening.
Their first match proved to be an easy experience as they won in two simple sets. The second match was a bit tougher, but they still managed to pull through, winning in three sets.
Nadal arrived in Bastad to test himself out ahead of the Paris Olympics. His last match before this week was at Roland Garros, so it's been a while since he played competitive tennis.
He practiced back home but needed matches to understand where he stood with his tennis. The doubles part of the equation was largely because he will play doubles at the Olympics.
Reports from weeks ago suggested that Nadal tried to lure Carlos Alcaraz to play doubles with him in the week before the Olympics, but the way Alcaraz's season shaped up and the fact that he won Wimbledon made it impossible.
Therefore, it came down to Ruud, and as he said, he couldn't turn down Nadal. Unfortunately, the Spaniard won't be going for a double crown in the Swedish city, even though he reached the final in singles.
He secured the final by winning his match against Duje Ajdukovic, but won't be playing the doubles match that was supposed to happen later in the evening. It's mainly down to fatigue, which is understandable, especially after Nadal's four-hour match in the quarter-final.
Many assumed that that match sealed the fate of this doubles outing, and they were right because playing didn't make too much sense for the 38-year-old, even though Ruud would probably happily play, given he lost already in his first singles match in Bastad.
However, the Olympics are a week away, and Nadal doesn't really need more playing time. He's gotten to play quite a few matches this week, and his fatigue level is probably really high by now.
He's had some really competitive matches and spent a good amount of hours grinding on the clay, which at his age is not ideal. In the post-match interview after beating Ajdukovic, he highlighted that his focus will be recovering for tomorrow's final, which was basically a silent confirmation that he wasn't going back onto the courts again.
The official confirmation came a bit later, and it was an unfortunate end to a fun week for Nadal and Ruud, but they enjoyed themselves out on the courts a decent amount, and right now, this was the wisest decision the 22-time major winner could have taken.
Ruud likely wasn't bothered by fatigue too much, as he was beaten early this week. This ultimately gives him a chance to look ahead to the Olympics, which are coming up in a week.
The event confirmed the withdrawal with a social media post, and Nadal hasn't offered a comment yet.