Rafael Nadal Hopes to Make Return at Barcelona Open: “We’ll See”

Less than a week after withdrawing from the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo, Rafael Nadal posted a message Wednesday evening on his X account, where he declared that he had trained on the court for the Barcelona tournament and hoped to make his return in competition during the Catalan tournament (April 15 – 21).

“Hello from Barcelona. First training… with the hope of being there these days before the start of the tournament, writes the former world No.1, now 37 years old, in an accompanied message from a photo where we see him sitting on the bench at the edge of a court at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899, changing the grip of his racket. I’m here to see how it goes… with the desire to try to play. It’s important to say that I don’t want to confirm that I will play, but that I hope so. We’ll see.”

The Spaniard, who will celebrate his 38th birthday on June 3 in the middle of Roland-Garros, has only played three official matches since his injury in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open. It was last January, in Brisbane , where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Since then, the man who is now only 646th in the world has continued to postpone his return, having successively withdrawn from the Australian Open, Doha, Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo…. Each time invoking the same reason: “My body doesn’t allow me to do it”.

A body that has been tormented for years by a player who has been fighting for two years against the injuries that are pushing him inexorably towards retirement. Barcelona is one of Nadal’s favorite tournaments, who won there eleven times, including the first in 2005, on the way to his first title at Roland Garros.

2024-04-10 21:41:00
#ATP #Barcelona #Nadal #hopes #dont #confirm #play #hope