Andrey Rublev and Dominic Thiem are clearly not missing Wimbledon and were spotted practicing on clay in Barcelona.
Rublev and Thiem are not competing at this year's grass-court Grand Slam, not because they were knocked out from the tournament, but for two very contrasting reasons.
Rublev is banned from playing because of the rule currently imposed by the tournament on all Russian and Belarusian players because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine's territory.
Thiem, meanwhile, is not competing at the All England Club for the second consecutive year. Last season, he missed the event because of a wrist injury. This time, the Austrian recovered from the debilitating injury that cost him almost eight months of his career.
But the former US Open champion was candid when he announced his withdrawal, saying that his level was "very weak" and it "wasn't enough" for him to play there.
Unsurprisingly, Rublev played on grass leading up to Wimbledon, but the 24-year-old was featured in just one event in Halle, where he was defending runner-up points.
He suffered a disappointing first-round exit at the hands of Nikoloz Basilashvili before switching his attention to clay. Rublev practiced on the surface before his return to the Tour in Bastad next week.
Thiem will join him in Bastad. He has signed up for the event thanks to his protected ranking. The 28-year-old is currently ranked outside the top 100 and doesn't qualify for automatic entry at top tournaments.
Thiem has had a terrible time since returning from his wrist injury, losing all the matches he played. He will make his return at the Salzburg Challenger this week, and judging by the intensity of the practice with Rublev, he's been focused on training.
The duo practiced together at the 4Slam Tennis facilities, which are located on the outskirts of Barcelona, for 10 days, sharing videos and pictures on social media.
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