Rafael Nadal won't be making his return anywhere but Roland Garros as she declined an invitation to the Bordeaux challenger.
Nadal has been out of action since the Australian Open earlier this year where he sustained a hip injury pretty early on at the event. He's yet to make a return pulling out of a couple of big events including the Madrid Open and then Italian Open this week.
Alex Corretja recently suggested that Nadal could opt to play an event before Roland Garros with Lyon and Geneva being two that are played in the week before. It doesn't seem likely as information came out about him declining an invitation to the ATP Challenger in Bordeaux which runs from May 14th to the 20th.
The information was confirmed by the tournament director of the event who spoke to L'Equipe about Nadal's agent turning down an offer for a wild card. The response from the agent indicated that Nadal is preparing for Roland Garros in Mallorca which makes his return before the event seems very unrealistic.
I offered him [Nadal's agent Carlos Costa] one of the wild cards. He very kindly told me that Nadal was continuing his preparation at home in Manacor, that he was not ready and was in a race against time to be ready for the French Open.
The decision is not a surprise to anyone but many wonder how it will affect his Roland Garros chances. Entering that event without any matches before and after not playing for months makes it very hard to imagine that he will truly perform really well.
It's his event and historically the most dominant event for any tennis player in history which is why many hesitate to doubt him. Some are more optimistic than others, especially those within his own circle but nobody really knows for certain. Time will tell best.
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