Nadal has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles in Paris but at 38 time is ticking for the Spaniard, who last month suffered his earliest exit from the French Open.
Battered by exhausting, career-long battles with injuries, former world No 1 Nadal has seen his ranking slump to 161.
As a result he is unseeded at the Games and could come up against top seed Djokovic as early as the second round, in what would be the pair's 60th meeting.
"Roland Garros is the most special place in the world of tennis for me," said Nadal, who won Olympic singles gold at Beijing 2008 and doubles gold with Marc Lopez in Rio eight years later.
Djokovic leads Nadal 30-29 in their head-to-head series.
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