Carlos Alcaraz confirms skipping Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony, reveals reasons

Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed that he will be skipping the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony. The Spaniard was initially set to feature at the prestigious ceremony but has decided to give it a miss citing his two matches across singles and doubles categories on Saturday, July 27.

The 2024 Paris Olympics marks Alcaraz's debut at the Games, and he is heading into his singles and doubles campaigns in Paris riding a wave of success. After enduring an indifferent start to the season, Alcaraz came into his own at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he successfully defended his title. More recently, the Spaniard has won the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships, taking his Grand Slam singles title tally to four.

Unsurprisingly, the World No. 3 is one of the favorites to clinch gold for Spain in singles, even more so now following the withdrawal of rival and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz is also set to partner two-time Olympic gold medalist and 22-time Major winner Rafael Nadal in doubles.

On Saturday, July 27, the first day of the Games' tennis tournament, Alcaraz is scheduled to play both his singles and doubles first-round matches. In singles, the Spaniard will begin his campaign against Lebanon's Hady Habib. Meanwhile, in doubles, Alcaraz and Nadal, dubbed Nadalcaraz, will play against the Argentine pair of Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez, the sixth seeds in the men's doubles draw.

Ahead of the gala Opening Ceremony, Alcaraz took to X (formerly Twitter) to write that owing to the two matches on Saturday, he would be avoiding the ceremony and instead prioritizing rest.

"I was very excited to be able to go to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics today with Spain. But tomorrow I have two games and it is advisable to rest and be ready! This begins!" Alcaraz wrote.

Rafael Nadal assesses his upcoming doubles campaign with Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics

Carlos Alcaraz (L) and Rafael Nadal (R) (Source: Getty)

Nadal provided compelling insights into his budding doubles partnership with Alcaraz to Spanish radio station Onda Cero recently. According to the former World No. 1, the partnership is still in its nascent stages, with both he himself and Alcaraz figuring themselves and each other out when playing together on the same side.

"It is not just about getting along, but about playing well in doubles. He has not played for a long time and I have not played for two days last week, we have to automate the movements. We started slower, we have to understand where to return, where to choose the right shot because the spaces are smaller," Nadal said.

However, Nadal remained optimistic about the pairing, opining that their on-court doubles relationship is constantly improving.

"We are feeling better every time. We will not have that from the start, but we are very excited and totally focused," Nadal added.

Nadal's participation at the 2024 Paris Olympics though, is, as it stands, doubtful. The 22-time Grand Slam winner experienced discomfort in his legs during doubles training ahead of the Games, which was later confirmed by his coach Carlos Moya.