Alcaraz and Nadal will need wild cards if Olympic doubles dream is to come true, reports Marca

Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal have both spoken about their wish to play doubles together at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 – but if it’s going to happen, they will both need wild cards.

Because Spain will be hosting next year’s Davis Cup Finals and have thus already qualified, they will not be part of the group stage competition – meaning neither man will be able to play a Davis Cup event in the two calendar years prior to the Games, which is mandatory.

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Nadal has not played Davis Cup since 2019, while Alcaraz played in 2022 but not since then.

Spanish media Marca reports that they will be able to write to the ITF and plead their case that they had no chance to play the Davis Cup in 2024. Alcaraz’s swift rise to the top of tennis means he has only been eligible to compete in Davis Cup very recently, while Nadal’s injury problems have ruled him out of the tour as well as team competitions, despite his strong record in Davis Cup participation prior to that.

It also has to be said that there is one rule from the ITF that could come to help the situation: the one that gives a way in for former Grand Slam title winners.

“One place is available in each draw for any athlete who has previously won an Olympic gold medal in singles or a Grand Slam singles title that has not qualified by direct acceptance, provided they are ranked in the Top 300 and don’t push their NOC quota over that magic four-singles-players threshold. If more than one athlete meets these criteria, the place will be offered to the player with the highest number of titles (with a gold medal representing one title). If two players have the same number of titles, the place will be given to the higher-ranked player on 14 June.

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