Was Rafael Nadal Slammed Again by Patrick Mourataglou? Olympics Comments Anger Spanish Legend’s Fans

Patrick Mouratoglou has made another controversial comment recently by saying that the Olympics is not important to the tennis world. The former coach of Serena Williams is known for his controversial opinions and doesn’t shy away from expressing those. Many fans think this comment about the Olympics is another dig at Rafael Nadal.

Mouratoglou has attracted criticism before for his comments comparing Rafael Nadal to Carlos Alcaraz and saying that the youngster is a better player. The Frenchman has made controversial comments about tennis legends like Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.

When Nadal, Djokovic expressed emotions at Olympics

Olympics has been a platform for the tennis stars to give something back to their country. Tennis, being an individual sport, doesn’t offer any tournaments where the players can represent their counties apart from the Davis Cup. Mouratoglou recently commented on his official Instagram page about Olympics not being a important part of tennis.

“From my point of view, any tennis player considers a Grand Slam 100 times more important for him or her than an Olympic event In most sports, the main events for which all athletes prepare are the European and World Championships, with the Olympic Games as the supreme goal. However, in tennis we have many major tournaments every year: not just the four Grand Slams, but also the ATP Masters 1000 which largely determines the ranking.”

These comments got a huge backlash from the fans as top tennis stars have always delivered at the Olympics stage. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi have produced iconic moments at the mega event.

Nadal’s Olympic breakthrough came in 2008, when he won the gold medal in singles in Beijing. His tears of joy shows the passion that the Spaniard has for the Olympics. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic failed to win the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Although the Serb was disappointed, his pride for his country clearly showed when he stood on the podium.

Roger Federer has never won an Olympics gold medal in singles, but has always spoken highly of the event. The Swiss champion has expressed his pride to represent his country on more than one occasion. In 2008, he won gold in doubles with Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka in Beijing.

Andre Agassi has an Olympics gold to his name too as he won the medal at the Atlanta 1996 Games. His picture standing on the podium waving to the American fans is etched forever in tennis history books.

Why is Patrick Mouratoglou seemingly against Rafael Nadal?

Patrick Mouratoglou has been often seen taking shots at Rafael Nadal. The Frenchman’s comments about the Spaniard’s inability to succeed on courts other than clay got his into trouble online. It is worth noting that both Mouratoglou and Nadal have their own academies in France and Spain respectively, which are considered two of the best in Europe at present.

Staunch Nadal supporters think the Olympics comment from Mouratoglou is another shot by the Frenchman on the Spaniard.

Although Mourataglou has constantly criticized Nadal, the Spaniard has remarkably never responded and gone on with his game. With Nadal set to compete in the Olympics in Paris 2024, it will be interesting to see how other players react.