Rafael Nadal - Everything the same in the clay court season
Rafael Nadal will compete in the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona in 2021. So the tournament schedule of the world number three looks like (almost) always on clay.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Mar 22, 2021, 06:53 pm
It was 2010 when Rafael Nadal canceled his Barcelona start over concerns about his left knee. He had learned from the past and did not want to play another tournament in the already tight clay court season, the Spaniard said at the time. However, the Iberian should not permanently remove his home tournament from the tournament calendar: From 2011 to 2019, Nadal always served in the Catalan capital.
And the world number three will play again in Barcelona in 2021. The organizers announced on Monday. "Rafa's presence in Barcelona is very important for the tournament. He is looking forward to the event even more after last year's cancellation," said tournament director David Ferrer.
Now that the event in Spain's second largest city has been confirmed, Nadal's calendar for the clay court season seems to have been set: The world number three will make his first appearance on red ashes from April 11th in Monte Carlo, one week later the tournament in Barcelona is on Program.
After a one-week break, Nadal is likely to play the two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in succession in Madrid and Rome from May 2nd, before the French Open, the big clay court highlight of the year, opens on May 23. There the "King of Clay" will win the 14th title in Roland Garros.