The Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal wants to start again at the Australian Open in January after his one-year break due to injury.
“After a year without competition, the moment has come to compete again,” said the 37-year-old in a video set to dramatic music on social media on Friday. It will be in Brisbane in January. “See you there,” Nadal added confidently.
Nadal hasn’t played a match since the Australian Open in January this year. In the summer, the 22-time Grand Slam winner had hip surgery and then announced that 2024 would be his last year as a professional. However, it was now unclear whether Nadal would even return.
“The last steps forward have been positive”
At a recent meeting in Barcelona, Nadal said he was making significant progress in training. He is happy with the current development. “A few weeks ago I wasn’t in a position to say whether I would return,” said the former world number one, “but the last steps forward have been positive.”
His long-time rival Novak Djokovic recently said he would be happy if Nadal returned. “I think it would be nice for our sport if there was at least one more match between Nadal and me,” said Djokovic (36) at the ATP Finals in Turin. “It’s the biggest rivalry in terms of the number of games the closest our sport has ever had,” said the Serb. So far, Djokovic and Nadal have faced each other 59 times.