Rafael Nadal signs to play Barcelona Open

The 11-time champion Rafael Nadal Nadal will headline the ATP 500 Barcelona Open field between April 19-25, seeking the first title in front of the home fans since 2018.

Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev will compete in Belgrade in the same week. Still, we should expect a strong Barcelona field, as always before at the world's fifth strongest ATP clay tournament. Nadal made a debut in Barcelona in 2003 at 16 and won the title two years later, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero to lift the trophy.

Rafa won the next four editions before skipping the event in 2010, getting back on the winning way in the next three years to keep his perfect record. Nadal failed to reach the semis in 2014 and 2015, bouncing back since 2016 to lift another streak of three titles. In 2019, Rafa lost to Dominic Thiem in the semis 6-4, 6-4 after over two hours, experiencing only his fourth defeat at his beloved tournament.