After almost a year of inactivity due to an injury and a hip operation, Rafael Nadal has already secured a date and place for his return to the ATP circuit: the Spanish former world number one will play again in early January at the ATP Open. Australia, according to what was reported by the director of the contest, Craig Tiley.
“We can exclusively reveal that Rafa will be back. He’s been away for most of the year and speaking to him over the last few days, he confirmed that he’ll be back (at the Australian Open), which we’re really excited about. It’s incredible. ” Tiley declared on the “Today” show on Australian television Channel 9.
Nadal played his last official match on January 18, when he lost in the second round of the Australian Open 6-4, 6-4 and 7-5 against the American Mackenzie McDonald. Due to the pain he suffered during the match, the champion of 22 Grand Slam titles underwent studies that determined that he suffered from a grade 2 injury to the iliac psoas in his left leg. The treatment he carried out did not give the expected results, so in June he decided to undergo hip surgery to minimize the pain.
After the intervention and from a recovery that was going to take five months, Nadal confirmed that he was concluding his season and was aiming to return in 2024. Last week the possibility of returning in Melbourne began to appear, since he published on his Instagram account a video in which he showed himself training on a hard court at his academy in Manacor. Although the movements looked very careful, Nadal was seen returning forehand and backhand balls from the back of the court as part of a training session thinking about his return to competition.
But in addition to notifying Nadal’s return, the Australian tournament director assured that the Spaniard “will show up to win”, just as he did in 2009 and 2022. “He would not come to the tournament unless he thinks he can win it. He will not show up simply to play, but he will show up to win,” Tiley remarked about the former world number one. The Australian pointed out that in addition to the Spaniard, the return of other great figures of world tennis is expected, such as the Japanese Naomi Osaka and the Australian Nick Kyrgios.
The next Australian Open will begin on a Sunday, January 14, and will last for fifteen days, one more than in previous editions, to spare players the burden of matches and excessive schedules. A change that the tournament itself considers “historic.”
2023-10-11 15:38:51
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