“I don’t think it’s fair. This is a special event and I deserve to go to it.”

Carlos Alcaraz, Alejandro Davidovich, Pablo Carreno and Rafael Nadal are among the Spanish tennis players who will take part in the Paris Olympics. The list of names has irritated some sectors of the sport, as only two of them are among the top ranked in the ATP: the Murcian and the Russian-born Malaga native.

Pedro Martinez and Roberto Carballes, 48 ​​and 63 years old respectively, are classified better than Nadal (275) and Carreno (1049) but, as expected, will miss the Olympic competition. This will be related to a measure that is used at the Games: protected rating. This is a selection method that allows important players who have been out for many months due to injury and therefore dropped down the ATP rankings to participate in important events. A form of compensation that does not appeal to everyone, as 27-year-old Pedro Martinez made clear in an interview with Relevo.

“In this case, the protected ranking is an injustice because none of us missed the Olympics due to injury, regardless of whether it was Rafa, who we all want to see at the Olympics, including me as a fan. » criticizes Pedro Martinez. “I don’t think this is entirely fair. It’s like if I got injured now and four years later I took advantage of my protected ranking at the Los Angeles Games. It’s a special event and I think I deserve to go there this year. And not going to such a situation is a little unfair. But you can’t control it and that’s it. “I was very happy to go to the Olympic Games and especially here in Paris,” laments the tennis player from Alzira, who is finishing the best season of his career, despite his recent defeat in the second round of Roland Garros to Andrey Rublev.