A 12-time Barcelona Open champion Rafael Nadal will not compete at the next week’s ATP 500 event! The Spaniard is still not ready to compete due to an ongoing hip injury, skipping the sixth straight tournament since February! Rafa has not played since the Australian Open second round, injuring his left hip against Mackenzie McDonald and staying away from the court for over three months! A 22-time Major winner will try to recover for the upcoming Madrid and Rome Masters 1000 events and find some form ahead of his beloved Roland Garros.
Rafa is the most successful player in the Barcelona Open history, winning 12 titles from 16 trips to Barcelona since 2003 and receiving an ultimate honor
. The central court has carried Nadal’s name for a couple of years, although he has not played on it since that epic 2021 final versus Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Rafa made his Barcelona Open debut in 2003 and lost to Alex Corretja in three sets. Nadal won five consecutive Barcelona titles between 2005 and 2009. He skipped the 2010 edition and claimed three straight titles without losing a set between 2011 and 2013.
Rafa’s second and third Barcelona losses came in 2014 and 2015 before reigning again between 2016 and 2018, winning all 15 matches in straight sets! Nadal’s fourth and last Barcelona loss came in the 2019 quarter-final against Dominic Thiem.
Rafael Nadal will miss the Barcelona Open due to an ongoing injury.
Rafa claimed his 12th title in 2021 following an epic 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 triumph over Stefanos Tsitsipas in three hours and 37 minutes! Nadal fended off a match point and remained perfect in the Barcelona Open title matches.
The Spaniard saved a match point in the final set’s tenth game and prevailed in the most extended best-of-three final since the start of the ATP Tour in 1990! Rafa saved 11 out of 13 break chances and produced four breaks that sent him over the top.
He survived that match point and rattled off the last three games to leave the opponent behind and bring the trophy home. Nadal missed the Barcelona Open last year due to an injury and will not chase his 13th title next week.
Rafa made a strong start to the previous season and conquered the Australian Open and Roland Garros. The Spaniard reached the Wimbledon semi-final before everything became a disaster for him. Rafa has played only 13 matches since the last August, struggling to compete injury-free and leaving the top-10 for the first time in almost 18 years!
Nadal skipped Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona, experiencing a massive setback and hoping to play without issues in May and June.
