After months of speculation, Rafael Nadal will make his long-awaited comeback on the ATP Tour at the 2024 Brisbane International.
The Brisbane International is the official curtain raiser for the men's season next year, and will officially kick off on December 31, 2023, and running till January 7, 2024. Nadal's participation at this event gathered pace when the tournament's social media channels teased his potential return.
Nadal, 37, hasn't played competitive tennis in precisely a year when he exited the 2023 Australian Open due to a hip injury following a second-round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald. Despite the initial diagnosis confirming he would miss between six to eight weeks, the injury was a lot more serious.
The Spanish legend ended up withdrawing from a slew of clay-court tournaments in the build-up to Roland Garros and doubts started to creep in about his potential long-term future in the sport. Nadal then gave an emotional press conference on the eve of the clay Slam, where he confirmed his anticipated withdrawal.
In addition, he explained that he would undergo surgery to cure the injury so that he could play a farewell season in 2024. After a successful operation in early June, Nadal completed his rehab and began training on the tennis court very recently.
The first major sign of his potential comeback was ignited by Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley who confirmed that he had been in regular contact with him and that he would play the Melbourne Slam in January.
Although Tiley's remarks were refuted by the Spaniard's management team, the Australian head honcho then issued a second briefing where he gave assurances that should the Spaniard overcome any niggling injuries then he is confident about his involvement at the Australian Open.
It does appear that Nadal has overcome all those pain barriers in his comeback plans and has since posted on his Instagram stories a video of his injury moment and his recent training with the hashtag "ready."
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