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

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

“The level was so far from what it should be. Probably also the energy,” Nadal said.

“It was a long week with long games. Even though 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 games.”

Nadal was playing his first tournament since being knocked out in the opening round of Roland Garros in May.

He skipped Wimbledon to concentrate on his clay court skills in preparation for the Olympic Games, which will be held at Roland Garros, where he has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam singles titles.

During the Games, Nadal hopes to extend his singles gold from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and his doubles victory in Rio in 2016.

In addition to the singles, he will also team up with Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in Paris.

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

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

“Somehow I felt like I came here with a much better training than what I had played all week at the tournament. I’m not happy with that,” he explained.

“I came here feeling like I was playing at a good level and I couldn’t show that all week. I’m not happy with that.

“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 couldn’t feel comfortable enough all week to be satisfied with the week of tennis I played.”