After almost a year without playing, Rafael Nadal announced his return to competition for January 2024, in Australia. The 37-year-old Spaniard, undermined by injuries, wants to have one last year on the circuit and end his incredible career on a good note.
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“ It’s time to come back », he assured in a video posted on December 1, 2023. On several occasions, in recent months, the tennis world has feared hearing Rafael Nadal announce the end of his career, forced by a worn physique after 21 years high level and masterful performances. But goodbyes will be for later.
“ I don’t deserve to end up like this », he recalled in his message, as an echo of his comments made a few months ago. When he had to give up the last Roland-Garros tournamenthis kingdom where he was crowned 14 times, the Spaniard had already warned: “ I have worked hard enough my entire sporting life that my end will not be at a press conference. I will fight to finish in the right way. »
“Rafa”, 663rd in the world, gets back on track to succeed in his farewell
So, as usual, the Majorcan fought for months. Against time, against wear and tear and against this suffering body. Already affected many times by injuries to the knees, shoulders or even back, diminished by the Müller-Weiss syndrome which has been causing his left foot to suffer for years, “Rafa” had to undergo surgery on his left hip twice this year. He has since worked hard to get back into acceptable physical shape to return to the courts.
It’s time to reunite on the circuit soon. Rafael Nadal will meet in Australia, at the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane (from December 31, 2023 to January 7, 2024), the precursor to the Australian Open. It was also in Melbourne that the Spaniard appeared for the last time, on January 18, 2023; then defending champion, he showed up with a failing physique and was knocked out in the second round by Mackenzie McDonald.
At 37 and a half years old, the “Bull of Manacor” returns to complete his fabulous story as he sees fit. Having fallen to 663rd in the world due to his one-year absence, Rafael Nadal may not have the means to accomplish the same miracles as before. The man with 22 Grand Slam titles has already admitted that he could no longer tickle his Serbian rival Novak Djokovic, new record holder with 24 victories. And his body will probably force him to choose his tournaments and skip certain meetings. But after fighting again to come back, he wants to succeed in his final lap in 2024, his very likely last year. This will not lack summits, including the usual fortnight on the clay court of Roland-Garros where the public is just waiting for them, and of course the Olympic Games.