In a recent interview with Spanish radio station SER Deportivos Baleares, Rafael Nadal spoke of looking forward to the next Olympic Games where he intends to play all events possible. That includes singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles.

Nadal Wants to Pair With Muguruza

The 29-year-old Spaniard cites his reasoning for wanting to play the three events because of  the rarity of the event. Nadal said in the radio interview, "I am going to compete in all that I can in Brazil because they're Olympic Games and you want to make the most and want to compete in individual, in mixed, and in doubles".

Nadal achieved Olympic success in 2008, when he won the gold medal in men’s singles. He defeated Fernando González in the final. However, he has never won any medals in doubles or mixed doubles, which perhaps motivates his choice to play all three. Nadal says that he has a partner in mind for mixed doubles, “My intention is to play (with Garbiñe Muguruza). Garbiñe has done a fantastic year and is a very good choice.”

Absence from previous Olympic Games

Nadal is motivated by his absence from the 2012 London Olympic Games, where he was elected to be the flag bearer for Spain. He was forced to withdraw from the event though with ongoing knee problems due to tendonitis. “I already said that to miss the 2012 Games was one of the difficult moments of my career, which probably hurt me more” said Nadal when asked about the Olympics on Friday.

Nadal confident for 2016

Aside from his Olympic plans, Nadal claims that playing to the best of his ability is his main priority. The Spaniard said that he wishes “to compete as well as in recent months. If that happens it will be because I feel good and competitive and objectives are the same as always."

After a tricky 2015, the first year since 2005 in which he failed to win a Grand Slam or Masters 1000 title, Nadal seems refreshed and confident for next season. A late boost in results towards the tail end of 2015 surely helped his confidence to rise, and he hopes to continue this into 2016. “I am confident to start the year, (and I) hope to be among the best” said Nadal when talk came to the future.

He notes that 2015 began as a year to forget, but things changed towards the end. “It has been a year that started badly, but we improved a bit and at the end of the year, the last three months, we have recovered the level that I would have liked months ago. I finished with a good feeling.”

Things are looking good for the Spaniard as he commented on his building confidence, saying, "I'm playing well and I'm at a time in which I have recovered the good feelings and when one comes from a complicated time and returns to play well, the desire and the energy is higher."

Nadal will begin his 2016 campaign at the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. Provided he remains healthy, he hopes to play a full schedule in the build up to the Olympic Games in the summer. The Olympics are scheduled to start on August 6th in Rio De Janiero.

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About the author
Joely Cook
Lover of tennis, in particular Rafael Nadal.