"Would be the ultimate send-off for Rafael Nadal's career" - Spaniard's fans react to Paris Olympics medal reveal

Rafael Nadal's fans on social media have backed the Spaniard to win a medal at the Paris Olympics after the tournament unveiled the new medals.

Paris 2024 will begin on July 26 and last till August 11. The tournament recently revealed that each medal to be handed to the top three at the end of every competition has been built with 18 grams of original iron from the Eiffel Tower.

The tennis event will notably be played on clay court, the surface on which Nadal has earned his maximum success over the past two decades. The 2024 Games are likely to be the Spaniard's final appearance at the mega quadrennial event as he inches close to retirement with every passing day.

The Spaniard's fans on X (formerly Twitter) started rooting for him as soon as the new design went public. A fan opined that taking home one of the medals would be the greatest farewell for him.

"Nadal; would be the ultimate send-off for his career," the fan wrote.

Another fan wrote:

"This would look so good on you"

Here are a few more reactions on X:

The 37-year-old already has two Olympic medals to his name. He first earned a gold medal in Beijing (2008) by winning the singles event and later doubled his tally by securing another gold, this time in doubles, in Rio (2016).

---

"Rafael Nadal is going to try everything he can with his team" - Monica Puig on the Spaniard playing at Paris Olympics

Rafael Nadal

Former tennis professional Monica Puig recently suggested that Rafael Nadal will go to greater lengths to be combat-ready for the Paris Olympics.

"I mean, there is no greater joy than representing your country. I think he [Nadal] knows that's something near and dear to his heart. He is going to try everything he can with his team. He has hundreds of people looking out for him, so he is going to try and be there [at Paris Olympics]," Monica Puig said in an episode of the Tennis Channel podcast.

Puig, however, reckoned that the Spaniard would first need to keep a check on his physical health, given a hip injury kept him out of action for almost the entirety of 2023. She said:

"But you know, at the end of the day, it's what the body says and you have to listen to that. He is not getting any younger and the body takes more time to recover. So, I just hope that he has a solid plan in place until then."

Puig competed on the WTA tour for 12 long years between 2010 and 2022. She won two singles titles and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 27. Her best result at the Grand Slam was a fourth-round finish at Wimbledon 2013. She notably won a singles gold medal for Puerto Rico at the Rio Olympics in 2016.