The Barcelona Open could lose two of its biggest names and most recent champions, Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, who are both now injured. Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion, withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Masters on Tuesday, while Nadal has not played an official match since January due to an abdominal ailment.
Alcaraz and Nadal are perhaps the biggest draws in next week’s Barcelona ATP 500. They are previous world number ones, multi-Grand Slam champions, and, most significantly for the crowd, Spanish. However, both guys may have to withdraw from the event due to injuries.
The 20-year-old has won the previous two editions of the tournament. However, with the Barcelona Open starting on Monday, it may be too soon for Alcaraz to compete. The world number three was observed wearing strapping on his right forearm during pre-tournament practice at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
On Tuesday, he dropped out of the event due to a pronator teres muscle issue. And he is due to decide on the Barcelona Open at the conclusion of this week. According to Marca, Alcaraz will take Tuesday and Wednesday off before returning to practice on Thursday.
On Friday, he will decide whether to defend his Barcelona Open title based on the results of his training sessions. Alcaraz was also forced to miss the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2023 after suffering a niggle during the Miami Open a few weeks earlier. However, he made a victorious comeback to Barcelona and claimed the championship.
Nadal, the 12-time Barcelona Open champion, will travel to the city on Wednesday in the hopes of making a comeback at next week’s tournament. But there is still a lot of question about his involvement.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion returned from a year-long injury hiatus at the Brisbane International in January, winning two promising matches before suffering a minor muscle tear in the quarterfinals. He has not competed in an official tournament since, withdrawing from the Australian Open, Qatar Open, Indian Wells, and Monte-Carlo Masters.
His only encounter was a Netflix-streamed exhibition against Alcaraz in Les Vegas in early March, which the younger Spaniard won in a tiebreaker 3-6, 6-4 (14-12). Nadal had planned to return to clay, but he had to withdraw from Monte Carlo because to a physical issue.
“Even though I work hard and give my all every day with the desire to play and compete in tournaments that are very important to me, the truth is that I am unable to play today. “You have no idea how difficult it is for me not to be able to play these events,” he remarked.
Nadal has resumed training since his withdrawal, although his stomach ailment is thought to be causing him problems while serving. His choice to travel to Barcelona does not ensure that he would participate, since he once went to Indian Wells nearly two weeks before the tournament started to prepare for a comeback before withdrawing 24 hours before his first match.
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