Credit: X
Spanish tennis wizard Rafael Nadal announced his return to international tennis in an Instagram post. The 22 Grand Slam winner hasn’t played competitive tennis since the Australian Open 2023 after his defeat to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the tournament. The tennis icon suffered a hip flexor problem in January and underwent an arthroscopic hip surgery in June.
Nadal took to social media and posted a video announcing his tennis comeback in the first week of January 2024. Nadal will play the Brisbane International, which is set to take place from December 31 to January 7. Nadal is currently ranked 663 in the ATP Circuit. In the video he posted on Instagram, Nadal said, “Hello everyone, after a year away from the competition, it’s time to come back.”
The 37-year-old added, “It will be in Brisbane in the first week of January. I’ll see you there. I don’t think I deserve to end like this. I believe I have worked hard all my sports life. So, that my end isn’t here at a press conference. I am going to finish my career in the right way.”
Notably, in June 2023, Nadal dropped out of the top 100 in the ATP rankings for the first time since 2000. Nadal saw a drop of 2000 ATP points after his withdrawal from the French Open in 2023. Nadal has won the Ronald Garros title for a record 14 times.
