Tennis-Nadal back in training ahead of French Open

Australian Open champion Rafa Nadal resumed training on Monday after four weeks out due a stress fracture in his rib, a month out from the French Open where the Spaniard will bid for a record-extending 14th title. Nadal, 35, last played in the final of Indian Wells against Taylor Fritz on March 22, falling to a straight-sets defeat.

Australian Open champion Rafa Nadal resumed training on Monday after four weeks out due a stress fracture in his rib, a month out from the French Open where the Spaniard will bid for a record-extending 14th title. Nadal, 35, last played in the final of Indian Wells against Taylor Fritz on March 22, falling to a straight-sets defeat. The injury forced him to skip claycourt tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

"Today after 4 weeks without stepping on a tennis court, first soft training," Nadal wrote on Twitter, alongside pictures of him practising on clay. The 21-times major winner could feature in ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome before the French Open, which gets underway on May 22.