When is Rafael Nadal opening his Indian Wells campaign as draw approaches?
ATPWednesday, 28 February 2024 at 14:00
Rafael Nadal's first match of this year's 2024 Indian Wells Open has now been confirmed ahead of the draw with the Spaniard set to find out his fate on March 4.
Nadal who has used his protected ranking to enter the tournament after slipping to World No.654 will play directly from the first round and now the organisers have confirmed that the Spaniard will make his return to action during the evening session on Thursday March 7.
With evening sessions starting at 18:00 local time which is around 2am GMT, European viewers will either need to set their alarms or wake up early with Nadal likely to be in a prime slot given his status in the sport.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion suffered a muscle injury at the Brisbane International and he was forced to miss the season opener at the Australian Open. He since tried to make his return at the Qatar Open in February, but he decided against it due to a setback in his comeback.
“Unfortunately I am not ready to compete," he said. "I will focus on keep working to be ready for the exhibition in Las Vegas and the amazing Indian Wells tournament.” That exhibition is set for March 3 against Carlos Alcaraz and it will only take four days after for the Spaniard to return to the ATP Tour of course pending him coming through that exhibition with no injury issues.
It is slightly puzzling but also understandable that Nadal will play in the evening. His status in the game means he is must watch, but also it doesn't cater perhaps to the European market including in Spain and the likely lions share of those watching him play. But he will aim to begin his campaign in his sole Sunshine Double tournament, he will then move onto clay with a busy schedule likely ahead.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- Raducan'tdo and the media's love affair with her may be due to her looks. Since she does nothing for tennis, what else is going on with the 'love'?? She is best at maintaining a "presence" via anti-Social Media and maintaining her sponsorships.
mandoist14-09-2026 - As soon as someone makes a statement like this we are all waiting for the inevitable outcome of the EXACT OPPOSITE!!! He’s got a lot of work to do if you’re both the fitness AND mental coach and your client loses her mind when she’s losing.DaveyWavey14-09-2026
- Endless intentional ball-bouncing is a ploy. Extended screaming in competition (but never, ever on the practice courts) is a ploy. Neither of these things are a "strategy". Bottom Line: WTA + ATP do not care. They consider these things free marketing and advertising issues.mandoist14-09-2026
- YAWN! Thank Dog for women’s tennis because the men’s tournament was quite boring. Not a fan of Zverev and Ben played poorly compared to his QF and SF matches.DaveyWavey14-09-2026
- Congrats Rybakina! Hopefully she can keep the top ranking for the remainder of the year. Not sure why we need to keep mentioning Raducanu in these ranking posts. Your ranking will drop when you don’t play for months on end.DaveyWavey14-09-2026
- "This of course a stark change to Rybakina who is obviously more timid..." That just may be the dumbest thing ever written about Lena. For a CCO, Mr. Gill seems to have either made an error in judgement -- or needed filler for this article -- to say something so ridiculous.mandoist13-09-2026
- “The way I like to put it – no disrespect to anybody – is that this is her house, and all the other girls are just guests, and it’s time for them to go home” Well now... seems John Stacy has made a complete ass of himself. Doubt he'll be receiving any invitations to Lena's "house" any time soon.mandoist13-09-2026
- I am sorry, but Sabalenka has NO EXCUSE for her despicable behaviour. She lacks self and mouth control! The message is being sent but Saba isn't getting it! She is full of arrogance and pride. Hopefully, after this defeat she will be on the way to becoming a humble lady LIKE ELENA! I hope she never regains the world No. 1 until she develops some humility.Rapunzel13-09-2026
- Sabalenka began showing signs of her game gradually 'changing' since last season. I predicted her fascination with posting endless Selfies, participating in commercial media distractions and constant Social Media nonsense could impact her in a negative way. Her off-court Life was sure to interfere with her performace level. Visions of Raducanu, Giorgi, Bouchard come to mind. The Final yesterday was a weird case of polar-opposites. Sabalenka and Rybakina could not be any more different in personalities! Saba often portrays a somewhat fake persona, including her Phony Screaming. Her usual habit of acting like the nice girl with a sense of humor is a misconception. People take her lack of intellect as "cute" and "funny". So anyway... yesterday viewers witnessed that Fake Scream be reduced to a whimper and sometimes no vocal gymnastics at all once she knew the jig was up. We all saw her look into the camera post-match and say "F... You". Also, pretty hard to not see Saba making untoward facial expressions, rolling her eyes, etc., behind Rybakina while on the podium. Elena Rybakina, on the other hand, was her usual 'in-control' self as she spoke clearly and calmly, without making faces nor any ill-will toward anyone = 100% Class Act. Lena appeared more than aware of Saba's sour attitude and made a point of not looking in her direction most of the time. FWIW: I have never -- not ever -- heard Sabalenka make any sounds on practice courts. So it is indeed a nonsensical ruse as she thinks (incorrectly) it affects opponents. It does not. In fact, as was the case yesterday, I saw Lena occasionally take a side-eye glance at Saba on her way to the bench... as if to calculate her emotions. Saba is actually a very easy 'read'.mandoist13-09-2026
- WTA really, really hates this sort of thing. They surely are satisfied to make believe no such thing happens (or happened).mandoist13-09-2026
Loading
