Rafael Nadal of the Indian Aces competes in men’s single in the 2015 IPTL Manila leg Monday at Mall of Asia Arena. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Rafael Nadal is on the final entry list for the Rio Olympics.
The 14-time major champion hasn’t played since pulling out of the French Open because of an injured left wrist and needed the International Tennis Federation’s Olympic Committee to approve his appeal because he hasn’t played Davis Cup.
Nadal won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.
While there were no surprises on the list released Friday by the ITF, two top-10 players—one on the men’s side, one on the women’s—later announced they were withdrawing from the Olympics, and both mentioned concerns about the Zika virus.
Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic of Canada, No. 7 in the men’s rankings, said in a statement that “I am making this decision for a variety of health concerns including the uncertainty around the Zika virus.”
Romania’s Simona Halep, the world’s fifth-ranked woman, posted on Facebook: “After several talks with doctors and my family, I concluded that the risks are too high for my career and for my health, especially as a woman. Family is much too important for me and I can’t risk not being able to have one of my own after my career in tennis is over.”
Still, unlike golf, most of the world’s top tennis players plan to go to Rio next month.
The only other unexpected announcement Friday came from sixth-ranked Victoria Azarenka, who posted on Twitter just as the Olympic roster was about to be released that she is pregnant and will miss the rest of the season. The two-time Grand Slam champion’s name was on the ITF’s list.
A handful of top-30 men had pulled out of the Rio Games; they mostly cited tennis reasons and not Zika. But the Big Four of Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer are all on the list—for both singles and doubles.
Murray is the reigning gold medalist, while Djokovic and Federer are each seeking a first Olympic singles title. Federer won silver in 2012 and Djokovic bronze in 2008.
Britain’s Murray is set to play doubles with his older brother, Jamie, who won this year’s Australian Open title with Brazil’s Bruno Soares. Federer will again team up with fifth-ranked Stan Wawrinka for Switzerland—they won gold together in 2008. Nadal is on the list with Marc Lopez, who won this year’s French Open championship with fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, one of the top-30 men skipping Rio. Djokovic is on the roster for Serbia with Nenad Zimonjic. The top singles players could later choose to pull out of doubles.
Overall, 13 of the top 15 men in the singles rankings are on the roster, with No. 9 Dominic Thiem the only other one missing.
Eighteen of the top 20 women are slated to go to Brazil, led by reigning gold medalist Serena Williams, who will also seek a fourth Olympic doubles title with sister Venus. Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova will miss the Rio Games because of her doping suspension.
There will be 64 players in the singles draws and 32 in doubles. Singles entries were based off the top 56 players in the June 6 rankings, with other ways to qualify for the final eight spots.
Each country is allowed a maximum of four singles players and two doubles teams for six players total on the men’s and women’s sides. Sixteen mixed doubles teams will be determined in Rio from players already in the Olympics.