The Spaniard Rafael Nadal, absent from the courts for almost a year, announced Friday that he would return to competition at the beginning of January at the ATP tournament in Brisbane, preparatory to the Australian Open.
“After a year without competition, it’s time to come back. It will be in Brisbane in the first week of January,” the 37-year-old former world number one said in a video uploaded to his social media.
Nadal has not played since his defeat in the second round of the Australian Open last January.
Fallen back to 663e world place after almost a year without playing, the left-hander from Manacor says “does not deserve to end like that”, in reference to the hip injury contracted in Melbourne in January 2023, during a tournament that he won in 2009 and 2022.
The 37-year-old has undergone surgery twice since and declared in September that the 2024 season was going to be his last.
Nadal will try to return to the highest level in Australia, but should especially aim for his favorite tournament on the clay of Roland Garros, where he has won 14 times.
He is now left behind in the number of Grand Slam tournaments won by Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic, who now has 24 Major titles, two more than him.
The Spaniard had already experienced a 2021 season undermined by a foot injury, and was eliminated by Djokovic in the semi-final of the French Open, visibly diminished.
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