Nadal heads to Monte Carlo Masters

Nadal trains at his academy in Manacor. He chose to practice with young talent Coleman Wong on March 22. According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, the training sessions of the "King of Clay" are intense. Nadal previously spent half a month working out in the gym while recovering from a hip injury he picked up at the Australian Open.

"The opponent who won the US Open and Australian Open youth doubles championships offers the right challenge for Nadal right now," said Marca. Wong, from Hong Kong, was also a semi-finalist in the young men's singles at the US Open 2021.

Former world number three David Ferrer also confirmed that Nadal is training five times a week to prepare for the clay season. "Nadal's idea is to play soon in April. It would be nice if he came back on this occasion," Ferrer, CEO of the Barcelona Open, told Punto de Break newspaper. The ATP 500 tournament earlier this week confirmed Nadal was on the list of participants. The Barcelona Open kicks off right after the Monte Carlo Masters.

Nadal earlier this month announced his withdrawal from major events in the Americas due to injury. He wasn't even sure about his return date as he described the pain at the Australian Open as worse than initially anticipated.

Nadal missed the first phase of the clay season last year because of a rib injury. He still won Roland Garros, thanks to defeating Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, overcoming Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals when his opponent was injured, and beating Casper Ruud in three blank sets in the final.