Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud will play doubles at the 2024 Bastad Open, and they learned their draw for the ATP 250 tournament.
The Olympics in Paris are only a few weeks away, so preparations are fully underway for many players. They will play on clay, making the clay tournaments in the coming weeks very valuable.
Entry lists clearly indicate that, as they are very packed compared to previous years, as this part of the season is generally when most top players use it to reset their bodies and go on a mini vacation.
Not this year, as the Nordea Open in Bastad will feature a packed field with many notable players, such as Ruud and Nadal. They’re going to team up in the doubles because the Spaniard needs to practice his doubles, as he’ll partner Carlos Alcaraz at the upcoming Olympics.
His initial idea was to have Alcaraz play with him in Bastad, but the 21-year-old quickly shut that down because he didn’t think there would be enough time for that. As we know, he’s yet to conclude his Wimbledon campaign, so he correctly predicted that he wouldn’t have enough time.
It’s unlikely that we will see Alcaraz until the Olympics, but it is not a massive issue for him as he grew up on clay and can switch back into it quickly. As for Nadal, he opted to play doubles with Ruud, whom he has known for many years as the Norwegian was part of his Academy.
With the draw out, we now know who they will play in the opening round of the doubles tournament. It’s going to be Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela, who are the second seeds at the ATP 250 tournament.
It won’t be an easy matchup, but Ruud and Nadal both have the quality to win the match. Should they succeed, their quarter-final opponents will be the winners of the match between Cameron Norrie and Mariano Navone, and Roman Safiullin and Theo Arribage.
