Rafael Nadal, record 10-time Italian Open champion, arrives in Rome for final preparation ahead of French Open 2024

Rafael Nadal put all the speculation surrounding his Italian Open 2024 participation to bed by arriving in Rome amidst much fanfare.

The Spaniard is at the tail-end of his illustrious career and his participation is in doubt for each upcoming tournament. After playing in Barcelona and Madrid, Rafael Nadal seemingly wants to play as many tournaments in the clay court season as possible.

In Barcelona, Nadal achieved a straight sets win in the first round but faced a defeat in the second round against Alex de Minaur.

Moving on to the Madrid Open, Nadal avenged his loss against de Minaur by defeating him in the second round. The Spaniard went past Pedro Cachin in the third round but was defeated by Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round.

After his Round of 16 exit at the Madrid Open, Nadal claimed he had a positive feeling and that he wanted to play in Rome if he faced no setbacks.

"I want to play in Rome and do well there. I am going to work hard to make that happen. It is one of the most important tournaments of my career, I won it 10 times. I hope to be able to play in Rome, if there are no setbacks, and I'm going there with the hope of continuing to evolve," Nadal said as quoted by Punto de Break.

Many still speculated his participation but the Spaniard arrived in Rome on May 4. The official X (formerly known as Twitter) account of the Italian Open posted about Nadal's arrival. They captioned the post:

"Welcome back, Rafa"

The record 10-time winner missed the tournament last season due to a hip injury. Nadal missed the 2023 French Open as well. Fans did not know what to expect this year from the 37-year-old but his arrival in Rome is a positive sign. His preparation for the French Open is in full flow.

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Rafael Nadal attends his first practice in Rome before the Italian Open 2024

The Italian Open's official X account made several posts of Rafael Nadal's return to Rome. They even posted a video of Nadal preparing for his first training on the court. They hilariously captioned the post:

"Admin is trying to figure out why this video lasts 80 minutes."

On Monday, May 6, the draw ceremony for the Italian Open 2024 will be held and it can be followed on the official X account of the tournament.

Daniil Medvedev will look to defend his title as the main draw for the men's tournament begins on Wednesday, May 8.