Rafa Nadal will not participate in the 70th edition of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-Trofeo Conde de Godó. In the end, he has not recovered in time from the injury that has kept him off the slopes since the Australian Open last January. “Barcelona is a special tournament for me, because it is my adopted club and because playing at home is always a unique sensation. I am still not ready and, therefore, I am continuing my preparation process for the return to competition”, said the Balearic tennis player.
The twelve-time winner of the Godó Trophy has tried to speed up the deadlines to arrive on time for one of his fetish tournaments but, after giving up Monte Carlo, he has also done the same with Barcelona. "Good luck to my friend David Ferrer and his entire team for this edition of Godó, which will surely be a success at all levels," Nadal added in his statement.
Nadal underwent one last test at his academy on Thursday and the result was not satisfactory. He has not felt prepared to reappear in such a demanding test.
At 36 years old, he has not played since he suffered a hip injury in the second round of the last Australian Open. “Grade 2 injury to the Iliacus Psoas of his left leg. The normal time for full recovery will be between 6 and 8 weeks," said the official statement in mid-January.
However, three months later, the Spaniard continues to exercise at home, on clay but without competing. He doesn't look 100 percent and he won't come back until he feels competitive. The next season in which he could reappear would be the Masters 1,000 in Madrid, which takes place from April 26 to May 7.
His inactivity has led him down the ranking to fifteenth place, when he had not been out of the top-10 since April 2005.
