Rafael Nadal is running out of time—and tune-up tournaments—for Roland Garros.

Jean-Baptiste Perlant, tournament director for next week's Bordeaux Challenger, told L'Equipe he offered Nadal a wild card into the Challenger. Carlos Costa, Nadal's agent, politely declined the offer, the tournament director told L'Equipe.

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"I offered him one of the wild cards," Perlant told L'Equipe. "Carlos Costa very kindly replied that Nadal was continuing his preparation at home in Manacor, that he was not ready and was engaged in a race against the clock to be ready at Roland Garros."

That means if the 14-time Roland Garros champion is to defend his French Open crown, he will do it without any clay-court tune-up matches.



Roland Garros starts on Sunday, May 28th.

Nadal has been sidelined with a hip injury since he suffered an Australian Open second-round loss to American Mackenzie McDonald on January 17th.

Photo credit: Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy