Rafael Nadal's current ranking and how he can enter tournaments without a wildcard: All you need to know

Rafael Nadal sent the capacity crowd in Barcelona into raptures on Tuesday during his emphatic victory over Flavio Cobolli in round one.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion made his much-awaited return to the tour earlier this year at the Brisbane International following nearly a year's absence due to injury. He was subsequently forced to withdraw from the Australian Open after suffering a micro tear in his muscle during his quarterfinal loss in Brisbane.

Competing in his first match since, and his first match on clay since his incredible triumph in the 2022 French Open final against Casper Ruud, Nadal entered the main draw using a protected ranking. He turned back the clock against his much younger opponent to seal a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

The Spaniard's lack of participation on the tour over the last couple of years has landed him in the unusual position of being down as low as No. 644 in the men's rankings.

His ranking doesn't allow him a direct passage into the main draws of most events anymore. He will either have to go through the qualifiers, hope to get awarded a wildcard, or use his protected ranking.

While wildcards and qualifiers seem a distant possibility, his most realistic chance of getting into events would be through his protected ranking.

A player may use his protected ranking if he has not competed in professional competition for a minimum period of six months due to injury. The petition must be written and submitted to the ATP CEO or his designee within six months of the player's last tournament.

The protected ranking can be in effect either for the player's first 12 singles and doubles tournaments or for 12 months from the first event played on return, which includes special events such as exhibitions and charity matches.

Nadal used his PR to play at the Barcelona Open, and it is widely suggested that he will do the same in the next couple of weeks as he gears up for action in Madrid, Rome and finally the French Open.

In what could be his last season on tour with a potential retirement looming on the horizon, this could very likely be the last clay court swing of Nadal's life.

The 14-time French Open champion's ultimate goal is to play at Roland Garros this year, and every fan wishes the same too. Only time will tell, however, if that is possible.

For now, he has a stiff task ahead of him in Barcelona and the next couple of weeks in Madrid and Rome.

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Rafael Nadal and Alex de Minaur to clash in R2

Rafael Nadal at the 2021 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell

Rafael Nadal made an emphatic return to the tour with an electrifying 6-2, 6-3 victory over Italian youngster Flavio Cobolli in round one of the Barcelona Open.

He is slated to lock horns with fourth seed Alex de Minaur in the second round. Ranked as high as No. 11 in the world, de Minaur has had a splendid start to his season, winning the title at the Mexican Open and reaching the finals of the Rotterdam Open.

The Australian kicked off his clay court swing in Monte-Carlo last week, seeing off the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Tallon Griekspoor and Alexei Popyrin, before succumbing to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

Nadal and de Minaur have faced off four times on tour, with the Spaniard leading their head-to-head 3-1 at the moment. De Minaur, however, won their last encounter on tour at the United Cup in Perth last year.

While Nadal heads into their encounter as almost everybody's favorite to win, there is no discounting a surprise from the hard-hitting and tireless Aussie. It is going to be a thrilling match-up between two fine athletes and we can expect plenty of fireworks throughout the encounter.