Rafa Nadal to make Barcelona comeback, Emma Raducanu to face Angelique Kerber in Porsche Tennis Grand Prix opening round in Stuttgart
14 April 2024, 13:09 | Updated: 16 April 2024, 08:00
Emma Raducanu will face Angelique Kerber in the opening round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart with Rafael Nadal set to make his comeback in Barcelona.
Raducanu heads to Stuttgart after a successful weekend in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers where she beat Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry to lead Great Britain to a 3-1 win over France and a spot in the Finals.
Kerber, a champion in Stuttgart in 2015 and 2016, is set to compete at the Porsche Tennis Arena for the first time since 2022 and, like Raducanu, plays after being handed a wild card.
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World No 1 and two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will also feature in the WTA 500 tournament, which includes eight of the world's top 10.
The top four seeds, Swiatek, Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina have first-round byes for the indoor clay-court event.
Swiatek is bidding to become the first three-time champion in Stuttgart since Maria Sharapova swept the titles from 2012-2014.
Jelena Ostapenko opens against Linda Noskova with the winner will face either Raducanu or Kerber.
In Munich, Britain's Jack Draper has been drawn to face Czech Vit Kopriva in the opening round, with Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune the top two seeds.
Who's playing in Barcelona?
Rafael Nadal looks set to make his long-awaited return to action at the Barcelona Open, although the 12-time champion has a couple of days to decide whether he is fit enough to face Flavio Cobolli.
Nadal, who has not played a match since the Brisbane International in January, is set to face 21-year-old Cobolli in the first round at 3pm BST on Tuesday - live on Sky Sports Tennis.
However, the Spaniard has yet to make a decision about whether he is fit enough to play and he will continue practising on his favourite clay surface in the lead-up to the tournament, which begins on Monday.
The 37-year-old 12-time champion in Barcelona has been forced to delay his comeback after picking up a micro muscle tear in Brisbane.
He has already withdrawn from the Australian Open, Qatar Open, Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo Masters, with the French Open starting on May 20, where he is a record 14-time winner.
Should Nadal defeat world No 63 Cobolli, he will face fourth seed Alex De Minaur in the second round.
The Australian is enjoying the best season of his career having broken into the world's top 10 for the first time.
Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the event due to injury.
The world No 3 pulled out of the Monte-Carlo Masters with a right forearm problem and has not recovered in time to defend his title in his home country.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who brushed aside Casper Ruud to claim his third Monte-Carlo Masters title in four years on Sunday, is in the draw
British No 1 Cameron Norrie has a bye to the second round, while Dan Evans opens his campaign against American Brandon Nakashima with second seed Andrey Rublev awaiting the winner.
Where to watch the Barcelona Open?
The live action from the Barcelona Open will be available to watch and stream on Sky Sports Tennis.
What's the schedule?
Monday 17 April 10am - Main Draw First Round
Tuesday 18 April 10am - 2nd Round
Wednesday 19 April 10am - 2nd Round
Thursday 20 April 10am - Round of 16
Friday 21 April 10am - Quarter-finals
Saturday 22 April 12pm - Semi-finals
Sunday 23 April 12pm - Doubles and Singles Finals
How to watch play on Sky Sports Tennis
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Non-Sky subscribers can stream live matches with a NOW Sports Day and Month Membership, via Sky Sports Tennis, Sky Sports Arena, and Sky Sports Mix channels.
For further access, fans will also be able to follow their favourite players and gain deeper insights from both Tours via Sky Sports News, the Sky Sports app, on SkySports.com and via Sky Sports social channels.
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(c) Sky Sports 2024: Rafa Nadal to make Barcelona comeback, Emma Raducanu to face Angelique Kerber in Porsche Tennis Grand Prix opening round in Stuttgart
