Rafael Nadal is supposed to return to tennis at the 2024 Qatar Open in Doha, but the situation is fluid, and there is much uncertainty about that.
Nadal's initial comeback Down Under proved to be a great success as the Spanish player played a couple of really strong matches. He would injure himself in the match against Jordan Thompson, which was a loss, but seeing him injured again was heartbreaking to many.
Luckily, the injury was not serious, and he announced that his comeback would continue at the Qatar Open in Doha, which is coming up shortly. As he keeps preparing for the ATP 250 event, his coach, Carlos Moya, provided an update on the situation to Punto de Break.
"It’s improving. We are being cautious. Where we come from, we have to be careful. We are slowly starting to train again. It wasn’t serious, but it was serious enough to not play the Australian Open, which was one of the big goals he had."
Missing the Australian Open was quite unfortunate for Nadal, as it was one of his goals to play at the event, but skipping it was the smart move. It's not an event he would have likely won anyway, so it was better for him to plan for the future, especially with a loaded clay calendar with Roland Garros and the Paris Olympics.
Moya does not worry about the injury itself, but the team is still being quite careful due to last year's injury, which proved very complicated to overcome. Hopefully, things will go much better on his second try, whether it be in Doha or some other event.
"The injury itself is not serious, it can happen, but when you come from where you come from, with those hard months you have had and seeing yourself so close to returning to a very decent version, it is a shame."