Carlos Alcaraz reveals Olympics goal ‘to bring medal’ to Spain
Carlos Alcaraz has revealed his intention to play and take home a medal at his debut Olympic Games, after it was confirmed that the Spaniard would need to contact the International Tennis Federation to gain entry to Paris 2024.
Alcaraz has only played for the Spanish Davis Cup team once, which does not meet the requirement of having two appearances in the current Olympic cycle.
After Spain received a wildcard to the Davis Cup Finals Group stage, it confirmed that both Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal would need to go through another route to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Into the 2024 @DavisCup Finals Group Stage with a wildcard 🇬🇧
Great Britain are joined by hosts Spain & 2023 finalists Australia & Italy ⬇️
— LTA (@the_LTA) November 26, 2023
Both players are expected to send a letter of appeal to the ITF to dispute that the Spanish wildcard has removed the possibility of them becoming eligible for the Games.
And it appears that Alcaraz already has his eyes set on not only making his debut at the iconic sporting event, but collecting a medal for the Spanish team.
“It is going to be a demanding year, it is a little more special having the Olympics,” said Alcaraz. “I really want to play. Trying to bring a medal to my country is what I would like the most and we are going to work to achieve it.”
Only two players representing Spain have medalled in tennis at the Summer Olympics, with the aforementioned Nadal winning gold in both singles (Beijing, 2008) and doubles alongside Marc Lopez (Rio de Janeiro, 2016).
With next year potentially being the final year of Nadal’s decorated career, Alcaraz has spoken about the potential of a ‘dream’ doubles partnership, especially with the tennis tournament taking place on the iconic grounds of Roland Garros.
Although the 2023 season is over, Alcaraz still has exhibition matches scheduled and beat Tommy Paul at the Plaza de Toros Mexico last night.
Carlos Alcaraz has played an exhibition in Mexico on yesterday and…
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) November 30, 2023
Alcaraz will now take a break before taking on rival Novak Djokovic on 27th December in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Inside the baseline…
Alcaraz has had another very successful season, winning Wimbledon, Indian Wells, retaining the Madrid Masters and adding three other titles to his resume. The Olympics will be a huge goal for many of the players next season, and with the tournament taking place on clay Alcaraz will likely see this as a huge opportunity to take advantage of.
READ MORE: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz face Paris Olympics obstacle after Davis Cup announcement
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