Rafael Nadal's schedule: Will he play Miami and Monte Carlo Masters? What's clay plan ahead of French Open and Olympics?
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ByEurosport
Published 13/03/2024 at 19:24 GMT
Will Rafael Nadal play the Miami Open? Will he play Monte Carlo and the Olympics? What is his schedule for the clay season? Will he retire from tennis this year? Nadal, 37, pulled out of Indian Wells as he continues to recover from injury. He has played just three matches this season after making his comeback at the Brisbane International in January. Nadal has been training on clay this month.
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Rafael Nadal’s comeback hit another setback as he pulled out of Indian Wells on the eve of his first-round match.
Nadal was due to face Milos Raonic in the first round but withdrew as he continues his recovery from injury.
“It is not an easy decision,” said Nadal. “It’s a tough one as a matter of fact but I can’t lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans.”
Nadal made his return earlier this year at the Brisbane International after nearly a year out due to a hip problem. He played three matches in Brisbane but has not played since after sustaining a muscle injury in defeat to Jordan Thompson.
Nadal will now continue his recovery before returning to the tour as he looks to build up to the French Open.
But where will Nadal play next and will he feature at the upcoming Miami Open?
Will Nadal play the Miami Open?
It looks unlikely that Nadal will play the Miami Open, which starts on March 20.
The 37-year-old hasn’t played the hard-court Masters 1000 since 2017, when he was beaten in the final by Roger Federer.
He is not currently on the entry list for Miami, where he would need to use his protected ranking to get into the main draw or receive a wild card.
Nadal has also been seen training on clay.
When will Nadal play next?
Nadal’s next tournament could be the Monte Carlo Masters, which starts on April 7.
Nadal is an 11-time champion at the tournament and has been named on the initial entry list.
Tournament director David Massey said about Nadal: "You never know what he's going to do, but I saw him training with his coaches on a private court…and I had the impression I was listening to a wild beast. He hits like he's never hit before.
"He felt some discomfort, so he was scared and decided not to play at Indian Wells, but the tests he underwent showed nothing.”
The Monte Carlo Masters is the first big event of the clay season, which culminates at the French Open.
Nadal is a 14-time winner of the Grand Slam and could be set to call time on his career after the tournament.
Is Nadal retiring this season?
Unlike Andy Murray, who has said he is planning to retire after the summer, Nadal has not given a firm indication of when he will step away from tennis.
However, given he has played just seven matches since the start of 2023, the signs seem to point to this being his last year on tour.
Nadal said last summer before undergoing hip surgery that 2024 was likely to be his final season.
There have since been suggestions that he could play on, including from former world No. 3 David Ferrer, but that might depend how the rest of the season goes.
What’s Nadal’s schedule for 2024?
Nadal is scheduled to play Monte Carlo and then Barcelona, which starts on April 13.
Nadal has won the title in Barcelona 12 times and will join Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas at the tournament.
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There are then back-to-back Masters events in Madrid and Rome before the French Open, which starts on May 26.
"He wants to work backwards from the French Open," said former world No. 1 Andy Roddick about Nadal's plans on the Served With Andy Roddick podcast.
"Every single decision that he has made from this point forward, and probably for the last year and a half – maybe that is a slight stretch, but 15 months – has been let’s work backwards from the possibility of playing Roland-Garros."
Will Nadal play the Olympics?
Nadal said earlier this year that he would like to play at the Paris Olympics this summer.
The tennis event at the Games is held on clay at Roland-Garros, the same venue as the French Open.
Nadal does not meet the eligibility criteria to play for Spain at the Olympics as he has not played David Cup since 2019.
However, it has been reported that Nadal can appeal to the International Tennis Federation to secure a place.
Olympic eligibility rules do allow for “discretion” to be offered if players have been unable to play Davis Cup because of “special circumstances”.
The same applies for Carlos Alcaraz, who also does not meet the Davis Cup eligibility criteria.
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