Olympics: Tennis superstar Nadal gives generously at the Olympics, but despite winning 22 Grand Slams, he remains down to earth

Rafael Nadal It proved that even after fully integrating into the life of the Olympic Village, he is still a close person.

Nadal, 38, finally competed in this year’s Paris Olympics after 18 months of hard training. He played in only six matches due to hip problems. He will partner with young superstars Carlos Alcaraz In the men’s doubles competition.

The Spanish skipped Wimbledon He attended this sporting event and was warmly welcomed by his companions upon his arrival in Paris.

Badminton stars, table tennis players and other tennis players posed for pictures with Nadal, and the 22-time Grand Slam winner was more than happy to oblige.

Nadal, who spent most of his time hanging out with his fellow Spaniards, said he was happy to be in Paris after making it through the Swedish Open final unscathed on Sunday.

He lost to Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-2 and gave an honest assessment of his conditioning.

“The level of play was nowhere near what it should be. Maybe the energy was not there. It was a long week, a long match,” Nadal told reporters.

Rafael Nadal gets warm reception from fellow athletes at Olympics

He took a photo with athletes such as Australia’s Ellen Perez in Paris

Badminton stars and table tennis players pose with Spaniards

The 38-year-old will compete in the Olympics this summer after battling various injuries

“Even though my body wasn’t hurt, which is important – mentally and physically, I wasn’t used to playing long matches for four days in a row.

“I need to analyse it and find out why I played like that, even if the atmosphere was not right… things like this can happen and that’s the situation. I don’t need to lie or hide anything.”

The former world number one, who is expected to retire at the end of the year, won singles gold at the 2008 Olympics and doubles gold at the 2016 Games.

He will partner French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles event at the Paris Olympic tennis tournament, which will be held from July 27 to August 4.