It is the news of the week in tennis matters. Rafael Nadal, Absent from the ATP circuit since losing to American Mackenzie Mcdonald in the second round of the Australian Open on January 18, has a date for his return to the slopes and it will be, precisely, in the tournament that saw him play an official match for the last time.
In recent days, videos of the Mallorcan training at a good level on a hard court had been released, which suggested that he was progressing favorably from his physical problems, and now it is confirmed. Craig Tiley, director of the Australian Grand Slam, made it official: “We can count on Rafa to return in Melbourne. He’s been out of the loop for most of the year and I’ve been talking to him the last few days. He confirmed that he will be back next year, which excites us all. “It’s great news.”confirmed to Nine’s Today.
On May 18, when he admitted at a press conference that he was going to do everything possible to be able to play at the highest level again and retire on a tennis court, he filled his followers with uncertainty. The grade 2 injury to the iliac psoas of his right leg that he suffered at the beginning of the year did not seem serious and it was expected that he would be able to play the European tour of tournaments on clay, but he did not fully recover and ended up not I was going to play in the following months to leave the physical problems behind.
At that time, the best-case scenario was to reach the Davis Cup Finals at the end of November, but Spain, which also had Carlos Alcaraz absent, did not qualify for that event. So, that’s how the chances of seeing Rafa in 2023 disappeared. Now the questions are over and the long-awaited answer appeared, the one given by Craig Tiley.
Rafael Nadal will play the 2024 Australian Open and, after carrying out an analysis with his team of his physical and tennis condition, he will choose the appropriate place or time for his retirement. Will it be Roland Garros? Will it be in Paris, but not in the Grand Slam but in the Olympic Games? Will you want to say goodbye to your people in Madrid or Barcelona? Or could it be that, if he returns to a good level and does not suffer with his physique, does he want to dream of continuing in 2025? Those questions still have no answers. Time will tell.
2023-10-11 01:55:38
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