Rafael Nadal withdraws from Barcelona Open, remains doubtful for French Open

Veteran Rafael Nadal has decided to opt out of the upcoming Barcelona Open and remains doubtful for the Roland Garros. The Spaniard is currently recovering from a hip injury, which he suffered while playing against America’s Mckenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open.

With the clay court season beginning with the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters, Nadal will have to take more time to play his first competitive match on his favorite surface.

The lefty has won Barcelona Open on 12 occasions and has a 66-4 in the tournament. Nadal confirmed that he is still preparing and hasn’t yet recovered fully.

“Barcelona is a tournament that is special for me,” wrote Nadal, who suffered a grade 2 injury in the iliopsoas muscle of his left leg in Melbourne, in Spanish on social media. “I’m still not ready and I’m continuing my preparation process for the return to competition.”

Barcelona Open, ATP 500 event, will kick off on April 17.

Meanwhile, Nadal recently returned to training at his own academy in Mallorca and he will be looking to hit the ground running once he returns to the court in his favorite clay court competitions.

The Spaniard missed all the tournaments after the Happy Slam and thus dropped out of the top 10 ATP Pepperstone Rankings for the first time in 18 years. He is currently in 15th position in the latest rankings.

On the other hand, Daniil Medvedev tipped Rafael Nadal as the favorite for French Open.

“Rafa isn’t well ranked, I might meet him before, but I believe he will play French Open, although I’m not in his body. I don’t want to talk for him. He won 14 times this Grand Slam, so he will be the favorite,” Medvedev said, via The Tennis Letter.