Alex de Minaur development rocks Paris Olympics amid brutal Rafa Nadal admission

Aussie tennis star Alex de Minaur has withdrawn from the Olympic singles competition after failing to overcome a hip injury. De Minaur sustained the injury during the fourth round at Wimbledon and despite announcing earlier this week that he was ready to go, it ultimately was a bridge too far.

The Aussie's first-round match was scheduled for later today (Sunday 28 July) against Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany but he will still compete at the Olympics as part of the men's doubles team alongside his childhood friend, Alexei Popyrin. The Aussie duo will face No.4 seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in their first match.

Earlier this month, de Minaur revealed just hours before his scheduled quarter-final clash with Novak Djokovic that he wouldn't be able to compete, after suffering a hip cartilage tear in the final game of his last 16 win over Arthur Fils. De Minaur did everything in his power to try and play against Djokovic, but ultimately it wasn't enough, with his attention quickly turning to trying to be fit in time to represent Australia at the Paris Games.

Initially, that was viewed as a long shot with the recovery time estimated at being between 3-6 weeks and his campaign with Australia kicking off just some 17 days after his injury. But on Tuesday, de Minaur confirmed in an Instagram post that he would line up for Australia. "To finally be able to represent Australia in the Olympics is a dream come true," he wrote. "I'm very passionate when I play for my country and wear the green and gold, so this is another one of those moments. I'm extremely excited to lace up for Paris 2024." Paris will mark de Minaur's first Olympics after he was heartbreakingly forced out of the Tokyo Games at the last minute in 2021 after contracting Covid.

And while he is now out of the singles competition, the Aussie will be relieved he can still be part of Australia's bid for an Olympic medal. But the news of his withdrawal from the singles competition both shocked and saddened the tennis world, with many left asking who is left to take his place with so many withdrawals already.

Rafa Nadal fumes over Olympics tennis schedule

Rafa Nadal earlier flagged the possibility he'd also withdraw from the singles tennis competition at the Paris Olympics, which would have ruined tennis fans' hopes of seeing a potential blockbuster clash between the Spanish great and Novak Djokovic. The 38-year-old advanced to the second round of the doubles with Carlos Alcaraz and then bemoaned the fact he was scheduled to play singles the next day.

Nadal picked up a thigh injury in training ahead of the Olympics and flagged his intention to focus on doubles only. But on Sunday the 14-time grand slam champion decided he would take on Hungary's Marton Fucsovics in the singles, with Djokovic lying in wait in the second round.

Nadal has only managed to play seven events so far in 2024 as injuries continuing to hamper him. He teamed up with tennis sensation Alcaraz to beat Argentinian duo Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in their doubles opener on Saturday.

And the Spanish star revealed after his doubles win: "I don't know what's going to happen, I don't know if I am going to play tomorrow or not. I will talk to my people and make the smartest decision that I can to have the best chance of bringing a medal home, so let's see."