Rafael Nadal works with his preferred clay. Consider Monte Carlo.
Rafael will have a few weeks in Europe to polish his talents and target a record-breaking 12th principality title. The Spaniard has played three matches in 2024; with his most recent failures, he did not feel prepared to compete and dropped three match points in the Brisbane quarterfinals. He also did not participate at the Australian Open, Doha, or Indian Wells.
That should change in Monte Carlo, and it will be interesting to follow Rafael’s progress on the slowest surface. Rafael Nadal experienced back trouble while preparing for the Indian Wells tournament. He chose to have an MRI rather than take any chances before his key clay swing, which will be his first clay tournament since June 2022!
Despite not playing many games this year, Nadal has been training constantly. If ready, the Spaniard will defend his 12th Monte Carlo title in April. Rafael advanced to the round of 16 on his Monte Carlo debut in 2003, upsetting the defending Roland Garros champion!
Rafael Nadal established his supremacy in Monte Carlo in 2005, winning eight consecutive championships. Rafael lost two matches to Novak Djokovic before regaining the reign between 2016 and 2018, during which time he won 11 titles in Monaco.
Since 2019, the Spaniard has slowed down, making only two appearances in Monte Carlo and failing to capture the trophy. Rafael Nadal will have to start from the bottom because his ranking is outside of the top 600, and he may already face the best players in the first or second rounds.
Rafael has only played seven games since the beginning of 2023 because of a hip injury that has plagued him for the majority of his extraordinary career. Despite suffering injuries in 2022, Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open and Roland Garros, earning him a record-tying 22 major titles.
Rafael Nadal is ready for the Monte Carlo event.
The Spaniard pulled out before the semifinals, so this is still his final match! By the end of the season, Nadal had missed out on the opportunity to top the world rankings at the age of 36, but he expected to rebound in 2023. He was unable to locate his shape. But Rafael had already finished the season at the Australian Open, so more troubles lay ahead!
Before taking on Mackenzie McDonald, the incumbent champion defeated Jack Draper in the first round in Melbourne. Nadal trailed and struggled to find his rhythm; in the closing stages of the second set, he sustained a significant injury to his left hip.
Despite dropping a late break in the third set and hitting the exit door, the Spaniard stayed on the court until the end. After missing the next four events due to a flexor issue, Nadal had arthroscopic hip surgery in June and missed the rest of the season.
After spending the summer with his loved ones, Rafael returned to the practice court, full of motivation to recover from the most serious setback of his professional career. The Spaniard improved in the gym and on the practice court, preparing him for his much-anticipated return to Brisbane in the first week of 2024.
Prior to the first true test, Rafael looked good in his first matches in nearly a year, defeating Jason Kubler and Dominic Thiem in straight sets. In the quarterfinals against Jordan Thompson, Nadal suffered a significant setback, wasting three match points in a three-hour, twenty-five-minute loss that concluded 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.
More importantly, the veteran’s body was unprepared for the task; he felt pain in the area of his troublesome hip. After being broken once in the final set, Nadal took a medical timeout and battled till the end, eventually losing.
Following Rafa’s journey to Melbourne, an MRI revealed a microtear in his muscle. The seasoned player withdrew from the Australian Open rather than risk a loss in the best-of-five match. After returning to Mallorca, Nadal began a fresh training routine.
Rafael Nadal & Andrรฉ Agassi ยฉ Tennis World via Getty Images. Entertainment: Candice Ward
A minor pain in his hip prompted him to miss Doha and avoid the court until Indian Wells. After two hours of desert training, Rafael lost 3-6, 6-4, and 14-12 to Carlos Alcaraz in the Netflix Slam.
However, a three-time winner opted to extend his tennis vacation and return home after withdrawing from Indian Wells owing to back problems. Rafael is back in the gym, sharpening his talents in preparation for his impending appearance in Monte Carlo in a few weeks. In what could be his final clay-court tour, he is hoping for a great performance in pre-Roland Garros matches.