Barcelona Open announcement suggests Rafael Nadal could return next week

Oli Dickson Jefford 12 Apr 2024 7:38 PM

Rafael Nadal may return at the Barcelona Open

Rafael Nadal could be in line to return at the Barcelona Open

Rafael Nadal’s return to court looks more and more likely after the Barcelona Open announced a starring role for the Spaniard in tomorrow’s draw ceremony.

Speculation has swirled around Nadal in recent weeks about if and when he would be able to return to court, after months of injury issues.

The 37-year-old did not play after the Australian Open in 2023 due to injury, missing out on the chance to defend his French Open title.

And he has only played three official ATP matches this year, withdrawing from the Australian Open after picking up an injury at the Brisbane International, and then withdrawing from Indian Wells after his Las Vegas exhibition against Carlos Alcaraz.

It had initially been hoped that the 22-time Grand Slam champion would be able to return for this week’s Monte Carlo Masters, but he announced his withdrawal last Friday.

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However, Nadal has been spotted hitting in Barcelona this week, and on Wednesday shared on social media he would try to play the event.

“Hello from Barcelona,” he said.

“First training session… with the hope of being here these days before the start of the tournament. I’m here to see how it goes… with the desire to try to play. I’ll tell you about it.

“It’s important to say that I don’t want to confirm that I will play, I hope so. We’ll see.”

Though expressing some hesitance about any potential return, an announcement from the tournament today has raised hopes that the Spaniard will be fit.

The Barcelona Open has confirmed on social media that Nadal will be pulling out the chips in tomorrow’s main draw ceremony, a potential sign that he will be in action.

2️⃣1️⃣ years later this photo will be rebooted @rafaelnadal will pull out the chips at the 2024 #BCNOpenBS main draw ceremony, just as he did in 2003.@atptour | @ATPTour_ES pic.twitter.com/viCLKc1qYw

— Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (@bcnopenbs) April 12, 2024

Nadal is not the only Spaniard – or former Barcelona champion – in line for a potential return, with Carlos Alcaraz also set to be in action after his Monte Carlo withdrawal.

The double defending champion in Barcelona, world No 3 Alcaraz is currently set to be the top seed at the ATP 500 event.

Andrey Rublev is set to be the second seed, with three-time Slam finalist Casper Ruud currently in line to be the third seed and Alex de Minaur seeded fourth.

Beaten 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas will be seeded fifth, with Ugo Humbert, Karen Khachanov, and Sebastian Baez rounding out the top eight positions.