Another injury forced tennis star Rafael Nadal to take a long break. He plans to return to action in Australia at the start of the new year
The Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal wants to get going again at the Australian Open in January after his one-year break due to injury.
“After a year without competing, the moment has come to compete again,” said the 37-year-old in a video on the X platform accompanied by dramatic music. It will be in Brisbane in January. “See you there,” Nadal added confidently.
Nadal has not played a match since the Australian Open in January 2023. The 22-time Grand Slam winner underwent hip surgery in the summer and subsequently announced that 2024 would be his last year as a professional. However, it was unclear at the time whether Nadal would return at all
Djokovic would be delighted to see Nadal return
At a recent meeting in Barcelona, Nadal said that he was making significant progress in training. He is happy with his 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 few steps forward have been positive. “
His long-time rival Novak Djokovic had recently expressed his delight should Nadal return. “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 matches against each other that our sport has ever had,” said the Serb. So far, Djokovic and Nadal have faced each other 59 times.