Tennis expert and Amazon Prime presenter Catherine Whitaker has criticised the tournament’s “weird” move to name the venue’s centre court after Rafael Nadal.
An 11-time champion in Barcelona, Nadal – born on the island of Mallorca, 250km south of the city of Barcelona – is the most successful player in the tournament’s history.
He boasts a staggering 58-3 record on the clay-court tournament and has never lost in a final, winning in straight sets on 10 of 11 occasions he has reached the championship match.
The Barcelona Open is held at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona and two years ago, the tournament decided to name the stadium centre court Pista Rafa Nadal.
Very few ATP Tour stars have stadiums named in their honour, most of which came after they had decided to hang up their racquets.
But Nadal’s recognition came before the 17-time Grand Slam had even turned 30.
Yet Whitaker – speaking on the Tennis Podcast – believes the ATP 500 Series event should have held off from honouring Nadal until he walks away from the sport.
Looking back on the Barcelona Open, she said: “It’s weird isn’t it? It’s weird.
“Could they not have waited just a few years to do that?
“I feel sorry for all his opponents walking out on the Rafa Nadal court to play Rafa Nadal. It’s ludicrous.”
World No 2 Nadal lost in straight sets to Thiem, going down 6-4, 6-4.
And though he suffered another disappointing tournament exit after crashing out of the Monte Carlo Masters semi finals to Fabio Fognini, Nadal took the positives away from Barcelona heading into the Madrid Masters.
He said: “I think my confidence is back and I believe I have made very important improvements and created a good base for try to achieve my goals in the next couple of weeks.
“Unlike that match against Fognini in Monte Carlo, I played well against Thiem, competing on a high level against a great opponent.
“I was competitive and enjoyed the match, happy with my improvements and how I felt on the court.
Nadal will hope to win his first title of 2019 in Madrid – the only event he failed to win on clay last year when he also lost to Thiem – with the Italian Open then preceding the French Open.
The Spaniard defends 2,000 points at Roland Garros and will seek a record-extending 12th Grand Slam triumph in Paris.