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22-time Grand Slam champion and one of the greats of the game of tennis, Rafael Nadal returned to competitive action on Monday, July 15. The Spaniard returned on the tennis court after making his last appearance in May 2024. The 38-year-old, who will next feature in the 2024 Paris Olympics, along with Carlos Alcaraz, returned to clay court at the Swedish Open in Bastad.
Nadal, who is playing men’s doubles alongside Casper Ruud of Norway, got to a winning start. The Spanish-Norwegian duo secured a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 win against the second seeded pair of Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela to progress further in the competition.
The Spaniard earlier confirmed his withdrawal from the recently concluded Wimbledon 2024, which saw 21-year-old countrymen, Carlos Alcaraz defeat record 24 Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in three straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 6-6 (7-6). Nadal, who marks his return at the Swedish Open, won his singles match in 2005 at the age of 19.
The Spanish great is set to face Leo Borg in the singles draw in the opening round of the Swedish Open in Bastad on Tuesday, July 16, whereas in the men’s doubles, the duo will take on the winner of Marinano Navone and Cameron Norrie vs Theo Arribage and Roman Safiullin in the second round.
Happy to be back: Rafael Nadal on return to clay court
The 38-year-old tennis great, Rafael Nadal opened up on his return at clay in Bastad after last playing years ago. “Personally, I am happy and I think it was a good match. We played quite well in the first time we played together and I’m happy to be back here after almost 20 years,” he said during the post-match on-court interview.
“I have great memories from this place from 2003, 2004 and 2005, so I am enjoying this week and hopefully can keep going,” he added.
