Rafael Nadal Returns To Practice Ahead Of Anticipated Comeback In Doha

Thursday, 01 February 2024 at 08:30

byZachary Wimer

Rafael Nadal will be making a comeback at the 2024 Qatar Open in Doha, and he's returned to training ahead of his return.

The 2024 ATP season so far has been quite eventful for the Spaniard, who made his return to tennis at the Brisbane International. It was basically one year after he injured himself at the Australian Open, and it was a pretty decent return.

He won the first match back easily and then added another impressive win after that. The third match was when things went south. He faced Jordan Thompson, and it kind of allowed him to wiggle out of a tricky spot.

The Australian saved match points in that match, and then Nadal got injured towards the end, which was a problem. The injury, luckily, wasn't that major, which is why Nadal will be coming back so quickly, but it was enough to keep him out of the Australian Open.

The plan was to reset in the Middle East, and his participation at the 2024 Qatar Open in Doha was confirmed not long after that. The event is coming in February, running from the 19th to the 24th, and Nadal is back to practice ahead of that return.

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This doesn't mean that he'll surely make his comeback at the event, as his coach Carlos Moya confirmed it's only a plan, but it's a good sign nonetheless. Nadal himself confirmed it with a photo and a video from practice with a caption that spelled it out literally.

"After a period of not putting anything on here, here we are. Back to the training sessions... with more intensity."

We'll see what happens in the coming weeks and whether Nadal returns to the Middle East. If not, the Sunshine Double may be a likely date for his return. Either way, the legend should be back on the courts very soon.