Rafael Nadal Announces Return to Tennis After Year-Long Hiatus Due to Injury

Rafael Nadal will return to the world of tennis after a year. He will be at the next ATP tournament in Brisbane, in Australia. After the formal announcement last Friday, the Spaniard decided to share a reflective video on social networks, where he explained what his expectations are regarding his return after the psoas injury that kept him away from the courts.

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“I am and have been afraid to announce things because, in the end, it is a year without competing,” Rafael Nadal began by saying in the video, and then added that the hip operation he had to undergo is not what he is most interested in. worries, but “everything else.” The Manacorí played his last match on January 18 of this year, against the American Mackenzie McDonald, in the second round of the Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal admitted his expectations on his return to tennis

The former world number 1 added: “I hope, first of all, to feel those nerves again, that excitement, those fears, those doubts. I hope I don’t expect anything, this is the truth. Having the ability to not demand of myself what I have demanded of myself my entire career.”

On the other hand, Nadal admitted that he is in a different time, and that he feels in “unexplored territory” where he hopes not to demand too much of himself. His return could occur on January 2, because the tournament in which he will coincide with tennis players like Andy Murray and Holger Rune will be held between December 31 and the 7th of the first month of next year.

Rafael Nadal played his last match in January 2023 at the Australian Open,

When announcing his return, the historic Rafael Nadal explained that his hope is not focused on winning tournaments like Roland Garros or the Australian Open, which he won 14 and 2 times respectively, but that he is aware of the difficulties he faces. that he will have to face, at least in the first games after almost a year of inactivity.

The last match that Rafael Nadal played

Rafa lost in the 32nd finals of the Australian tournament against the North American Mackenzie McDonald (55th) by 4-6, 4-6 and 7-5 in two hours and 32 minutes of play, on January 18, 2023.

In the eighth game of the second set, Nadal began to experience pain in his hip and was treated several times throughout the match. That discomfort ended in a grade 2 injury to the iliopsoas of his right leg. At the time, recovery was going to take between 6 to 8 weeks.

2023-12-04 19:31:30
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