Rafael Nadal will head to the Paris Olympics chasing a third gold medal but admitted his “level is far from where it should be” after losing in the Bastad clay-court final on Sunday.

The 38-year-old Spanish legend lost in three sets to Portuguese Nuno Borges in his first final since winning his 14th French Open in 2022.

“The level was far from what it should have been. Probably the energy too,” Nadal said.

“It’s been a long week with long matches. Even if I don’t have any damage to my body, that’s important – but mentally and physically I’m not used to playing four days in a row and playing long matches.”

Nadal was playing in his first tournament since his opening round exit at the French Open in May.

She skipped Wimbledon to focus on her clay-court skills ahead of the Olympics, which will be played at Roland Garros, home of 14 of her 22 Grand Slam victories.

Nadal aims to add to his gold medal haul at the Games, which he won in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and his doubles victory at Rio in 2016.

He will also face French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in singles in Paris.

“I played the final, that’s positive. I was able to play long matches without getting injured, that’s good,” Nadal added of his week in Sweden.

The former world number one, who played in just six tournaments in 2024 due to injury, dropped to 261st in his rankings.

“Somehow when I came here I felt like I practiced much better than I did the whole week of playing in the tournament. That’s something that didn’t satisfy me,” he explained.

“I came here with the feeling that I was playing at a good level and I couldn’t show it all week. That’s something that doesn’t make me happy.

“Anyway, it’s a final, so I can’t say it’s a bad result because it’s the first final in a long time. But I didn’t feel comfortable enough all week to be happy with the week of tennis I played.”