Rafael Nadal to skip Wimbledon ahead of doubles partnership at Olympics with Carlos Alcaraz

Rafael Nadal will partner Carlos Alcaraz for Spain at the Olympics this summer.

Spanish tennis captain David Ferrer announced the expected partnership on Wednesday, with the pair competing in both the singles and doubles at Roland Garros.

It was also confirmed that Nadal will miss the grass-court season, including Wimbledon, to prioritise the Olympics, as he suggested he would after falling to a first-round exit at the French Open last month.

When asked whether he would compete at SW19 next month, Nadal had previously said: “I don’t think it’s going to be smart after all the things that have happened to my body to make a big transition to a completely different surface and then come back immediately to clay.”Despite the ongoing concerns over Nadal’s fitness at this stage of his career, Ferrer is confident the 38-year-old will be raring to go for the Olympics at Roland Garros, the site of his 14 French Open titles.

"I think Rafa will arrive in Paris very well,” Ferrer said.

“His goal is the Olympics and he has not been worn out excessively all year because he has been with the injury, and that is important for him, to arrive mentally fresh. And after Roland Garros, where he already competed at a high level, I am confident that he will give us joy.”

There is a strong expectation of Spanish success with Nadal’s history in Paris and Alcaraz returning to Roland Garros just a couple of months after winning his first title, beating Alexander Zverev in a five-set final.

“When I return to this stadium at the end of July, I will probably have some cool flashbacks that will come to mind,” Alcaraz recently told L'Equipe.

“It will be a very special tournament, my first Olympics just after winning my first Roland Garros. Fighting for a gold medal for my country, playing doubles with my idol, Rafael Nadal, are things that I will only believe after experiencing them.”The five tennis events at the Olympics will take place between July 27 and August 4, with 64 players in the singles, 32 teams in the doubles and 16 pairs in the mixed doubles.While Alcaraz will be competing in the Olympics for the first time, Nadal already has two gold medals to his name. He was singles champion in Beijing in 2008, and won doubles gold alongside Marc Lopez at the Rio Games in 2016.