With the Paris Olympics coming up, the tennis world is brimming with excitement. The event will see Rafael Nadal back in action, not only in singles but also in doubles. The Spanish legend missed the recently-concluded Wimbledon Championships after injuries played spoilsport. But now toward the end of his career, the Paris Olympic Games present Nadal a realistic chance to have one last laugh before he retires. However, that chance might come in doubles instead of singles as Nadal will team up with in-form Carlos Alcaraz to play in the men’s doubles in Paris.

In what could be a dream pairing, the two generational stars will team up for the first time together. The duo has already set their feet rolling and were pictured together during a practice session ahead of the mega-event. Alcaraz and Nadal had an exhaustive training session and they ended it by posing together for a picture.

Later, Alcaraz took to his official Instagram handle and shared the picture via a post and wrote, “What should this pair of doubles be called? @rafaelnadal.” While many fans responded with interesting nicknames for the duo, the one answer that stood out was of Coco Gauff’s coach, Brad Gilbert. The legendary coach took to Twitter and wrote, “Vamos Raflitos.” The name was a combination of the first names of the duo, with ‘Raf’ from Raflitos coming from ‘Rafael’ Nadal and ‘litos’ coming from ‘Carlitos’ Alcaraz. With this, Gilbert ended the dilemma of Alcaraz with an interesting name for the team of Nadal and Alcaraz.

While it’s no Ruudal or Fedal, ‘Raflitos’ has a nice ring to it no doubt! Earlier, it had been uncertain if Nadal and Alcaraz would team up at the Paris Olympics, given the duo’s recent injury troubles. However, the two are back to full fitness and roaring to go for gold at the Olympics. A few days ago, Nadal put his full faith behind Alcaraz as he aimed to end his career on a high.

Rafael Nadal is underconfident yet hopeful about Paris Olympics

The 22-time Grand Slam champion will be seen in action in singles as well as in men’s doubles in Paris. While singles glory would be a long shot, the success of Nadal and Alcaraz in men’s doubles cannot be ruled out. The two generational stars are a dream pairing, something that their opponents would fear.

Although Nadal was not confident about success in his final appearance at the Olympics, he had full faith in Alcaraz to lift his team and achieve glory. Nadal mentioned, “I know that if I play well in singles, I will also play well in doubles, but I will have to work hard. And I’m convinced that Carlos will be at a great level, knowing that he arrives with confidence.”

Meanwhile, Alcaraz can’t wait to team up with Nadal. The 22-time Grand Slam champion is Alcaraz’s idol and the latter grew up watching him play. Alcaraz revealed, “And obviously, the doubles with Rafa is going to be a really dream moment for me. Obviously, we will try to bring home the gold medal again.”

While there is no doubt about the duo’s abilities in singles, it remains to be seen how they gel up in doubles. Can the team of ‘Raflitos’ achieve glory for Spain at the Paris Olympics? Let us know your views in the comments below.