<p>Rafael Nadal committed himself to playing singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the Olympics despite serious concerns over whether or not his left wrist injury will survive the gruelling challenge.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“After discussing it with my team, I have decided I will play everything that I can. We are here and practice has gone well -- more or less,” said the 30-year-old Spaniard after an intense, 90-minute training session with compatriot David Ferrer. “It’s not an ideal situation — there are always risks.”<br />World number five Nadal spent a lengthy period after his practice session on centre court discussing his plans with the team doctor and team captain Conchita Martinez.<br /><br />He is scheduled to play doubles with Marc Lopez and mixed doubles with French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.<br /><br />“Yesterday (Monday) and today (Tuesday) have been my strongest training in two months and the wrist has not gotten worse,” he added.<br /><br />Nadal hasn’t played at all since he was forced to quit the French Open before the third round after damaging tendons in his left wrist.<br /><br />He missed Wimbledon as a result. The protective brace he wore on his wrist since Paris was missing on Tuesday.<br /><br />The 14-time Grand Slam title winner was the gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but missed the 2012 London Games because of a knee injury.<br /><br />He is due to carry his country’s flag at Friday’s opening ceremony in Rio. Nadal admitted that his best medal chance may be in the doubles where the burden is shared.<br />“It’s true that in doubles, I might go better, but you never know,” he said.“I will do everything possible to make my role the best and bring something positive for Spain.”<br /><br />Nadal’s decision to play in all three events was a major boost for the organisers who on Tuesday saw world number four Stanislas Wawrinka pull out with a back injury.<br /><br />Wawrinka was replaced in the draw by big-serving Australian Sam Groth. Last week, world number three and 17-time major winner Roger Federer also withdrew and shut down his season to recover from a knee injury.<br />Fellow top ten players Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych and Dominic Thiem have also opted out of the Olympics.<br /><br />The women’s singles have been stripped of Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, who is pregnant, Belinda Bencic and Karolina Pliskova. Maria Sharapova, silver medallist behind Serena Williams in 2012, is serving a two-year doping ban.<br />The men’s doubles was also tainted when defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan opted out, citing health reasons but not specifically blaming the Zika virus.</p>
<p>Rafael Nadal committed himself to playing singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the Olympics despite serious concerns over whether or not his left wrist injury will survive the gruelling challenge.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“After discussing it with my team, I have decided I will play everything that I can. We are here and practice has gone well -- more or less,” said the 30-year-old Spaniard after an intense, 90-minute training session with compatriot David Ferrer. “It’s not an ideal situation — there are always risks.”<br />World number five Nadal spent a lengthy period after his practice session on centre court discussing his plans with the team doctor and team captain Conchita Martinez.<br /><br />He is scheduled to play doubles with Marc Lopez and mixed doubles with French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.<br /><br />“Yesterday (Monday) and today (Tuesday) have been my strongest training in two months and the wrist has not gotten worse,” he added.<br /><br />Nadal hasn’t played at all since he was forced to quit the French Open before the third round after damaging tendons in his left wrist.<br /><br />He missed Wimbledon as a result. The protective brace he wore on his wrist since Paris was missing on Tuesday.<br /><br />The 14-time Grand Slam title winner was the gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but missed the 2012 London Games because of a knee injury.<br /><br />He is due to carry his country’s flag at Friday’s opening ceremony in Rio. Nadal admitted that his best medal chance may be in the doubles where the burden is shared.<br />“It’s true that in doubles, I might go better, but you never know,” he said.“I will do everything possible to make my role the best and bring something positive for Spain.”<br /><br />Nadal’s decision to play in all three events was a major boost for the organisers who on Tuesday saw world number four Stanislas Wawrinka pull out with a back injury.<br /><br />Wawrinka was replaced in the draw by big-serving Australian Sam Groth. Last week, world number three and 17-time major winner Roger Federer also withdrew and shut down his season to recover from a knee injury.<br />Fellow top ten players Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych and Dominic Thiem have also opted out of the Olympics.<br /><br />The women’s singles have been stripped of Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, who is pregnant, Belinda Bencic and Karolina Pliskova. Maria Sharapova, silver medallist behind Serena Williams in 2012, is serving a two-year doping ban.<br />The men’s doubles was also tainted when defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan opted out, citing health reasons but not specifically blaming the Zika virus.</p>