Rafael Nadal delivers good news about his upcoming schedule

Rafael Nadal has been a high-quality athlete for two decades now, but he likely has been having doubts as far as how well his body will allow him to continue playing tennis. Even before he had a major hip injury in January of 2023 at the Australian Open, the Spaniard was struggling with different issues. He had an abdominal tear midway through 2022 which affected his form and then had the hip problem to start the following year.

So far in 2024, Nadal has only been able to play in two events. One was not an ATP-sanctioned tournament either. He began the year by playing at the Brisbane International before he suffered a minor injury to the same hip he hurt in 2023. He withdrew from the Australian Open because of it. He next played in the Netflix Slam but seemed bothered by a back or abdominal problem by the end of the match, which he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.

There is good news, however. Nadal is expected to be ready to play next week when the Barcelona Open starts. According to SER Deportivos, Nadal will travel to Barcelona to prepare for the ATP 500 event, and this includes practice time versus other top players. Assuming that all goes well - and with Nadal's injury history, that might not be a safe assumption, he will test himself during the Barcelona tournament and then play next at the ATP 1000 Madrid Masters.

Rafael Nadal gives health and scheduling updates

Madrid is set to begin the week after Barcelona so a player who has had difficulty playing in any tournaments this year expecting him to be involved in back-to-back events might be expecting too much. At least both tournaments are on clay so this should be less taxing on the body than playing on hard courts. Plus, Nadal is a master on clay so even if he is only 70 percent of his peak form, he is still capable of winning the event.

The plan is for Nadal to rest after Madrid and skip the Rome Open. He would then return for the French Open in late May. The Spaniard has won that event 14 times and even hobbling would be among the favorites in 2024.

There is also the chance that Nadal will end his professional career at Roland Garros. He might try to make a run at playing in the Summer Olympics in July, which are also played at Roland Garros, but that would not seem like a proper exit. Playing (and winning) the French Open would be, though.

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