- Darwin Blanch played his first ever ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami in March
- His career earnings are $30,000, compared to Rafael Nadal’s $134.7 million
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A young American tennis prodigy will face 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal at his home tournament in Madrid after being granted wildcard entry into the event.
16-year-old Blanch is currently ranked 1,028 in the world but must feel like he has won the lottery after being picked alongside Nadal for the first round of the clay-court tournament.
The teenager reacted in complete shock on Snapchat on Monday, posting a photo of himself covering his face alongside the caption: ‘Guys I’m playing Nadal wtf’
Nadal is a record five-time champion in Madrid, but it is Blanch’s first time competing, and he has a career earnings of $30,650, compared to Nadal’s $134.7 million.
The Spaniard is recovering from injury and has fallen to 512 in the rankings, which could give Blanch a glimmer of hope ahead of their battle on Wednesday afternoon (4am EST Wednesday).
Darwin Blanch couldn’t believe it after he was drawn against Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Open
Blanch played in the Boys’ Singles at the US Open last year, but is now making the step up
Blanch, 16, is pictured at Wimbledon last year. He has earned $30,650 in his career so far
Born in September 2007, Blanch played in his first ever ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami last month, losing to world number 50 Tomas Machac in straight sets.
He has since traveled to Spain and reached the semi-finals of lower-ranked M15 Telde, ultimately losing to Diego Augusto Barreto Sanchez after wins over three players in the earlier rounds.
Elsewhere in the Madrid Open tournament line-up, Carlos Alcaraz is back from injury and trying to win a third straight title, but top-ranked Novak Djokovic is missing.
Alcaraz will compete in his first European clay court event of the season after skipping Monte Carlo and Barcelona due to a right arm injury.
The 20-year-old Spaniard starts his title defense against Alexander Shevchenko or Arthur Rinderknech.
Nadal is returning from injury and will face a player he has never seen before in Madrid
Carlos Alcaraz is back in the field and wants to win the Madrid Open title for the third time in a row this year
The winner of the match between Blanch and Nadal will face tenth seed Alex de Minaur in the next round.
Nadal lost to De Minaur in the second round at the Barcelona Open last week in his first tournament in more than three months.
The 37-year-old Nadal last won the Madrid title in 2017, when he defeated Dominic Thiem in the final.
Three-time champion Djokovic will not play in Madrid for a second consecutive year, reducing his clay-court preparations for his title defense at the French Open.