Paris. After having dropped out of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, Rafael Nadal published a message on his X account in which he declared that he was training in Barcelona, where he hopes to play the tournament in the Catalan city next week.
“Hello from Barcelona. First training session… with the hope of being here these days before the start of the tournament,” wrote the 37-year-old former world number 1, in a message accompanied by a photo in which he appears sitting on a bench on one of the courts of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899.
“I’m here to see how it goes… with the desire to try to play. I’ll tell you,” Nadal continued, before specifying “it’s important to say that I don’t want to confirm that I will play, I hope so. We’ll see.”
The Spaniard, who will turn 38 on June 3 at Roland Garros, has only played three official matches since his injury in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open. It was in Brisbane last January, a tournament in which reached the quarterfinals.
Since then, the Mallorcan has been delaying his return, causing him to miss the Australian Open, in Doha, Indian Wells and Monte Carlo. Each time, repeating the same reason: “my body won’t let me.”
The player has been fighting injuries for two years, which are pushing him towards retirement. Nadal has won the clay court tournament in Barcelona 12 times.
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– 2024-04-18 12:22:46
