WASHINGTON - Rafael Nadal will return to the competition by making his hard-court tournament debut in Washington.
The Citi Open announced on Thursday that the 20-time Grand Slam champion is in the fray for an event from July 31 to August 8 that serves as a US Open tuneup.
Nadal, 35, hasn't played since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals last month.
He decided to sit out of Wimbledon, which ends on Sunday and the Tokyo Olympics starting on July 23, saying his body needs time to rest and recover after the clay-court season.
Other players entering the City Open include Wimbledon semifinalists Denis Shapovalov and Hubert Herkaz, who defeated Roger Federer on Wednesday.
Wimbledon quarterfinalists Felix Auger-Aliasim and Karen Khachanov have also entered.
The tournament says the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center will be allowed to hold spectators at 50% capacity. Last year's Citi Open was canceled due to the pandemic.
𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗔'𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗨𝗦 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗖. pic.twitter.com/mhmQbs9fRi
— Citi Open (@CitiOpen) July 8, 2021
