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Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are both in doubt for the Barcelona Open.
By Yasmin Syed
Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz will make a decision on the Barcelona Open later this week (Image: Getty)
The Barcelona Open could lose two of its biggest stars and most recent champions with Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal currently facing injury problems. Two-time defending champion Alcaraz suddenly withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Masters on Tuesday while Nadal has not played an official match since January as he continues to battle an abdominal issue.
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Alcaraz and Nadal are arguably the biggest pulls in the draw for next week’s Barcelona ATP 500. They are former world No. 1s, multi-Grand Slam champions and, most importantly for the crowd, they hail from Spain. But the tournament could left without both men as injuries may force them to withdraw.
The 20-year-old has won the last two editions of the tournament. But with the Barcelona Open kicking off on Monday, it could be too soon for Alcaraz to compete. The world No. 3 was seen wearing strapping on his right forearm during his pre-tournament practice sessions at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
On Tuesday, he pulled out of the tournament citing a pronator teres muscle injury. And he is set to decide on the Barcelona Open at the end of this week. According to Marca, Alcaraz is taking Tuesday and Wednesday off before he returns to practice on Thursday.
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Carlos Alcaraz was seen with his right forearm strapped before pulling out of Monte Carlo (Image: Getty)
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Depending on how his training sessions go, he will make a call on his Barcelona Open title defence on Friday. Alcaraz was also forced to miss the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2023 after picking up some niggles during the Miami Open a few weeks prior. But he made a successful return in Barcelona and lifted the trophy.
As for Nadal, the 12-time Barcelona Open champion is set to make the trip to the city this Wednesday in the hopes that he can make his comeback at next week’s tournament. But there is still a lot of uncertainty around his participation.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion returned from a year-long injury layoff at the Brisbane International in January, earning two promising victories before he picked up a micro muscle tear during his quarter-final defeat. He has not played an official tournament since, pulling out of the Australian Open, the Qatar Open, Indian Wells and the Monte-Carlo Masters.
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Rafael Nadal is a 12-time Barcelona Open champion (Image: Getty)
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His only match was a Netflix-streamed exhibition against Alcaraz in Les Vegas at the beginning of March, which the younger Spaniard won in a match tiebreaker 3-6, 6-4 (14-12). Nadal had been aiming to return on the clay but pulled out of Monte Carlo when his body wouldn’t allow him to compete.
“Even if I am working hard and making the maximum effort every day with all the will to play and compete again at tournaments that have been very important for me, the truth is that I can’t play today. You have no idea how hard this is for me to not be able to play these events,” he said.
Nadal has continued training since his withdrawal but his abdominal pain is said to be causing him issues when serving. His decision to travel to Barcelona isn’t much of a guarantee that he will play, as he also headed to Indian Wells almost two weeks before the tournament began to prepare for a comeback before pulling out 24 hours before his opening match.
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Rafael Nadal Carlos Alcaraz
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