Rafael Nadal is set to play his first match since recovering from a hip injury at this week's Barcelona Open, although reports of a scheduled press conference on Monday have sparked withdrawal fears.
Nadal, 37, has been out of action for the longest time possible in his entire career for the last 15 months. He spent almost the entirety of last season in rehab from a complicated flexor muscle injury in his hip.
He required surgery and was forced to shut down his season ahead of the 2023 French Open. Nadal marked his comeback at this year's Brisbane International, where he won a couple of matches en route to the quarterfinal.
There, he squandered match points in a three-set defeat to Jordan Thompson. A double whammy hit him because he hurt his hip in the same match, almost as if he was revisiting the same nightmare from 12 months ago.
Nadal missed some big events, like the 2024 Australian Open, which he had planned for many months during his time away last year. However, his injury was not as detrimental as he had feared, and he was back on the tennis courts to compete in an exhibition match at the Netflix Slam in Las Vegas.
But he raised concerns when, just shortly after, he withdrew from Indian Wells. It was expected that he would return at last week's Monte Carlo Masters - a tournament that Nadal has dominated in the past, winning 11 titles - only to pull out days before the main draw started.
It has been reported that Nadal was struggling with an abdominal issue that impacted his serve. Even his uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal, recently explained that his nephew had no issues in training except for the serve.
In a tweet by Jose Moron of Punto de Break, it states that Nadal will hold a press conference after completing his final training session of the day on Monday at 2 p.m. local time. Nadal was seen during the Barcelona Open draw ceremony, where he learned that he will play his first match on Tuesday against Flavio Cobolli.
It is unclear whether the 12-time champion is only fulfilling media obligations related to the tournament or if he has a much more important announcement to share with the fans that he requested for a press conference.