Rafael Nadal will play doubles at the 2024 Bastad Open with Casper Ruud, which will likely serve as practice time for him for the Olympics.
A few weeks ago, Nadal confirmed his participation at the Nordea Open in Bastad, one of the few clay ATP 250 events that take place every year after Wimbledon. Events like that are hugely valuable this year because the Olympics are also played on clay, so many players will use them to get back into the swing on the red dirt.
The 14-time Roland Garros champion is just one of a few players who have already signed up for the Bastead Open, which will also feature former champion Ruud. The two know each other really well, as the Norwegian was part of Nadal's Academy many years ago.
They even partnered up for a series of exhibitions in South America a couple of years ago, something that Ruud ended up regretting. It completely disrupted his offseason, resulting in his weakest professional season in recent years.
Now, they're going to play doubles in Bastad, which is likely practice time for Nadal, who hasn't played doubles much in recent years. His most notable match was at the 2022 Laver Cup with Roger Federer, which ended up being the last time the Swiss Maestro stood on a tennis court as a professional player.
Nadal will partner with Carlos Alcaraz at the upcoming Olympic Games. He initially wanted to play doubles in Bastad with him but has now settled to play with Ruud to familiarize himself with doubles tennis again.
His fellow Spaniard probably wasn't optimistic about making it to the Swedish city, and that's why the 38-year-old opted to play with someone else to familiarize himself with the doubles court. The Spaniard has been practicing on clay for a while now, showing his willingness to do well in Paris.
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