Rafael Nadal revisits special Paris Olympics memory with Carlos Alcaraz after compatriot reacts to his 'fun' padel session

Rafael Nadal recently revisited a memory of himself alongside Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The two Spaniards famously paired up to participate in the men's doubles tennis category. The 22-time Major champion's recent recollection stemmed from his young compatriot's reaction to him playing padel.

Nadal, who pulled the curtain on his stellar career at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, was captured on camera enjoying a padel session with friends. It didn't take long for the videos and photos captured during the session to gain traction on social media. Alcaraz too, took notice of it on X and reacted with:

"👀👀👀"

Not long after, Alcaraz's legendary compatriot responded with a GIF of himself and the 21-year-old warming up in the tunnel before heading into one of the doubles matches they played together representing Spain at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz's doubles campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics got off to a positive start. However, it ultimately ended as the Spanish duo lost to a much more experienced doubles pairing from the USA.

Paris Olympics 2024 saw Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz reach doubles QF

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz (left) and Rafael Nadal (right) at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Source: Getty)

Dubbed "Nadalcaraz", the Spaniards roared to a 7-6(4), 6-4 win over sixth seeds Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzales in the first round of men's doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics. On that day, the veteran and the young phenom combined wonderfully to oust the Argentine pairing from the tournament.

Next up, Nadal and Alcaraz locked horns with the Dutch of Wesley Koolhof and Tallon Griekspoor. Here, things proved trickier for the Spaniards compared to their first-round outing. However, they managed to band together and survive, eventually scraping through to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-2 victory.

However, their Paris Olympics journey ended in the quarterfinals as the vastly experienced doubles pairing of Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek from the USA asserted their superiority. The Spaniards huffed and puffed, but ultimately fell to a 2-6, 4-6 loss.

In singles, Nadal and Alcaraz's fortunes were contrasting, but with a common thread. The 22-time Grand Slam champion met legendary rival Novak Djokovic in the second round and lost to the Serb 1-6, 4-6 despite mounting a brief second-set fightback. Alcaraz would go on to clash against Djokovic for the men's singles gold medal, but once again, the Serb famously reigned supreme, with the young Spaniard settling for silver.