Almost one after his last official match, Rafael Nadal, 37, is soon back. The Spaniard will participate in the ATP 250 in Brisbane, a sort of dress rehearsal before the Australian Open which will be held from January 14 to 28. In the first round of this preparation tournament, he will face a player from the qualifiers whose name is still unknown.
The date of the meeting will be known later (Sunday or Monday), with the qualifications having to end this Saturday afternoon before the draw. There are some great people there, including two former ATP top 10 players like the Austrian Dominic Thiem and the Argentinian Diego Schwartzmann. The world number 1, winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments, has not played an official match for almost a year, during the 2023 Australian Open.
It is in Australia that he will make his comeback for what could be his last season, he who began his professional career in 2001. Back thanks to a “wild card”, Rafael Nadal knows he is eagerly awaited. “I feel good,” he said on Friday at a promotional event in Brisbane, while specifying that he “doesn’t expect much” from his return to competition. “I’m not going to complain, I feel much better than I could have hoped for a month ago, but in my opinion, it’s impossible to think about winning tournaments today. »
During his absence, Rafael Nadal underwent two hip operations which almost took him away from competition for good. He announced his return at the beginning of December in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Nothing is impossible, but for me, just being here is a victory,” he added on Friday.
The next day, the Mallorcan continued his training against Andy Murray, a few days after having had Richard Gasquet as his training opponent.
