Rafael Nadal planning clay court 'roadmap' with Rome Open likely to be skipped

Rafael Nadal seems to have his clay swing schedule defined after skipping the Monte-Carlo Masters. The 22-times Grand Slam champion will finally return next week at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open, a tournament he has won 12 times so far.

The former world No. 1 continues to struggle to return to competitive form, as he last competed in early January at the Brisbane International, but a muscle injury forced him to withdraw before the Australian Open. Subsequently, injuries prevented him from participating in the Qatar Open, Indian Wells, and this week's Monte-Carlo Masters.

In a recent interview with Movistar after deciding not to participate in Monte-Carlo, Nadal commented that his body was still not in optimal condition for high-level competition: "My body won’t let me. It’s getting difficult for me. It’s been a difficult year and a half, I’m trying every day. I have things to solve, and the reality is that at the moment I’m not being able to put myself in a position to compete. It’s hard."

When asked about his upcoming challenges and his anticipated return, Nadal remained uncertain: "I don’t rule out anything, not even being in Barcelona or Madrid, but at the moment, I am not being able to get there due to physical problems." According to the Spanish radio network Cadena SER, Nadal already has a defined 'roadmap' for the coming weeks. The 14-times French Open champion is already training in Barcelona and is registered with his protected ranking to return to the tournament after being absent in 2022 and 2023.

After playing in Barcelona (April 15-22), Nadal would travel to the Madrid Open, which begins on April 24. His participation in the Italian Open (the week following Madrid) is not ruled out, although according to Pedro Fullana of SER Deportivos, it is less likely: "his participation in Rome is less likely, and more so seeing that he would be competing for three weeks in a row (four if he goes to the Italian capital) after spending practically a year without doing so." With the conclusion of the Italian Open, the final challenge will be at Roland Garros, where Nadal hopes to reach his best level and have sufficient rest time to have a strong performance in the tournament where he has won 14 titles.