Tennis star Rafael Nadal made his comeback at the beginning of January, was injured again and has not played a match since. Now the Spaniard is apparently returning to the tour
Following his withdrawal from Monte Carlo, Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal is apparently returning to the tour in Barcelona.
The 37-year-old remained in the draw for the clay court tournament and was drawn to play Italian Flavio Cobolli in the opening round. It would be Nadal’s first match since the beginning of January.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion had previously decided not to play the first clay-court tournament of the season in Monte Carlo, fueling speculation that his career would soon come to an end. “My body just won’t allow it,” wrote the former world number one on X, formerly Twitter. The sporting highlight of this stage of the season is the French Open, which begins in Paris at the end of May and at which Nadal is the record winner.
Due to a long-term hip injury after the Australian Open in January 2023, Nadal had canceled all tournament appearances. This year, the Spaniard made his comeback before the first Grand Slam tournament of the year in Brisbane, but was injured again there and has not played a match since. The Spaniard had already announced last year that 2024 would most likely be his last year on the tennis tour.
Meanwhile, his Spanish tennis colleague Carlos Alcaraz had to cancel his participation in Barcelona due to an injury to his right arm and will therefore not be able to defend his title. The world number three had already missed the tournament in Monte Carlo due to the injury.
