Rafael Nadal: Date set for former world No1’s Grand Slam return
Rafael Nadal is set to return to Grand Slam tennis at the Australian Open in January for what could be his last appearance at the tournament before retirement.
The Spanish former world No1 has not played since the Melbourne event last year, where he suffered injury in a second-round defeat, but organisers have announced that he is set to play the 2024 edition.
“We can reveal exclusively here that Rafa will be back,” tournament director and Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told The Today Show on Wednesday.
“He’s been off for most of the year and in talking to him over the last few days he confirmed he will be back, which we’re really excited about, the champion of 2022. That’s awesome.”
Nadal said last year that he plans to retire in 2024, two years after long-time rival Roger Federer also hung up his racket.
The 37-year-old had hoped to bow out at the Paris 2024 Olympics but that dream appears to have been scuppered by the International Tennis Federation’s eligibility rules.
Nadal missed the 2023 French Open, where he has won 14 of his 22 major titles, after undergoing surgery on the hip flexor injury and subsequently sat out Wimbledon and the US Open.
In his nine months out he has seen Novak Djokovic equal and then eclipse his record tally of Grand Slams, while Nadal has fallen to 240th in the world.
Tiley also revealed that “some of the greats” would be playing the Australian Open women’s draw, with former champions Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber all lined up for returns.
Home favourite Nick Kyrgios, who has played only one ATP Tour match in 2023 due to injuries, has returned to training and is hopeful of being fit for Melbourne, with Tiley adding that he was “doing his utmost to get back to his best”.