Rafael Nadal is back on the tennis courts, and while we've yet to see him play a match, whispers are starting to pick up.
For a while now, we've heard the narrative that Nadal looks really good on the court, and it just keeps growing. The Spaniard has been working hard for the past month, with several of his colleagues teaming up with Arthur Fils in Kuwait, Richard Gasquet in Mallorca, and finally Holger Rune in Brisbane.
All of them had nothing but good things to say about Nadal and his level, and when the Spaniard himself added that he was feeling really good in an interview recently, well, it's happening.
Rune's words were particularly encouraging for Nadal fans as he used 'unbelievable' to describe how Nadal played in their practice ahead of the 2024 Brisbane International.
It's funny, like after the practice I talked to my team, and I thought he played unbelievable. We were hitting. He was hitting strong. He always used to hit strong. Then we started points and I thought he was moving very well, moving side to side extremely fast. I think the intensity he brings is incredible.
It's wonderful to hear Nadal doing really well because his return to near-peak form would certainly add a new layer to an already exciting 2024 season. Obviously, the ultimate test will come with an official match but nothing we've heard should make fans worried.
Rune even went as far as to say that it was the hardest practice he had recently due to the intensity Nadal brings.
Like, I've been playing I think a very intense pre-season and a very intense end of the season last year, and that was probably the hardest practice I've had the last half year, I would say.
It makes sense because he took a lot of time to get back, and that was by design because he wasn't going to come back until he felt he could play about as well as you can hope after such a complicated injury and surgery.