Rafael Nadal on Monday confirmed that he’ll play this week’s Barcelona Open in what will be the Spaniard’s first tournament since January.
“I arrived here … in a last-minute decision as I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said in a news conference.
“Tomorrow I’m going to be on the court.”
His first match will be against 21-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday.
Nadal, 37, whose most recent ATP Tour match was in Brisbane in January, withdrew from last week’s Monte Carlo Masters, saying his body was not ready for competition.
The former world No. 1 has said he expects to retire after the 2024 season but is desperate to play at the French Open where he has won a record 14 titles.
Nadal’s appearance in Brisbane was his first match in almost a year in which he was sidelined by a hip flexor injury.
He has won the Barcelona title on 12 occasions but has not played in the clay-court event since 2021.
