Australian Open chief executive Craig Tiley on Thursday reiterated his full confidence in the return of Rafael Nadal at next year’s opening Major as the Spaniard continues his rehabilitation from the several different injuries that have plagued him over the past few years. The 22-time Grand Slam champion had revealed earlier this year that he plans for 2024 to be his final year on the competitive tennis tour.
Nadal, who has not played a professional tennis match since bowing out of the second round at Melbourne due to a hip flexor injury, is yet to confirm where and when his comeback will take place. But Tiley maintains that he is confident the 37-year-old will not miss out on the opportunity to repeat his heroics from 2022, when he returned from a similar injury-induced break to win the Australian Open despite trailing Daniil Medvedev by two sets in the final.
“Rafa has been training, I follow him closely, probably every day, because he’s a massive drawcard for us,” the Australian Open chief was quoted as saying by Reuters. “He wants to play, he’s obviously planning on playing. It all depends on how he pulls up.”
“Hopefully in the next week or the next two weeks, we get some specific confirmation of that. I’m certain Rafa will be here because he’s not going to want to miss the opportunity to repeat what he did a couple of years ago,” Tiley added.
I appreciate the vote of confidence from the Australian Open… I am practising every day and working hard to come back asap 💪🏻😉
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) October 11, 2023
Updates on return
Last month, the executive had mentioned for the first time that he believes Nadal, a big commercial draw for the tournament, should return to the Australian Open in 2024, to which Nadal, neither confirming nor denying, just responded that he “appreciated the vote of confidence” in a post on his X account.
Since then, more definitive updates have been made by the Spaniard about his return. After laying low for many months, his social accounts have become more active with regular videos of his practice sessions – on hard courts – being posted.
Last week, Nadal issued the most clear-cut update on his return so far, confirming he will be back but asking fans to “stay tuned these days when I decide and announce with my team when and where,” on his social media channels.
Following that, Nadal was quoted as saying by atptour.com: “Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good.”
“We know that the pain will never disappear, but I’ve taken a step forward. That’s a lot for me. Talking about tennis is another matter altogether, as is the level I’ll be able to play at. But the steps toward trying to play again have been big and positive, which is what we have been fighting for for several months. I’m confident I’ll be able to say something more specific in the coming weeks,” the 37-year-old added.
While he remains tight-lipped on a potential return, it will evidently be the summer months where Nadal will be targeting to return to his competitive best. The Spaniard will be looking to get another crack at the European clay season to strengthen his bid for one last Major at the French Open, to add to his fabled record of 14 titles. Later in the year, Nadal will look to add another Olympic medal to his tally, especially considering the Paris Olympics will be taking place at Roland Garros as well.
Where the Australian Open fits into those goals remains to be seen.
Historic injury trouble
While it is his hip flexor injury that kept him out of the French Open last year, and subsequently caused him to give up on the 2023 season, Nadal has faced injury trouble throughout his beaten and battered body over the last few years.
TENNIS – FRENCH OPEN – ROLAND GARROS – ATP – WTA – ITF – GRAND SLAM – CHAMPIONSHIPS – PARIS – FRANCE
In 2021, the Spaniard needed minor surgery for the chronic foot issue that he has suffered from since 2005. Despite that, his foot continued to give him trouble, flaring up again a few times, most notably during his run to the 2022 French Open title, which he played with pain-numbing injections on his heel.
The last time he was at a high competitive level was at Wimbledon last year, when he was forced to withdraw from the semifinal after tearing an abdominal muscle, which derailed the rest of his year.
An announcement is expected soon about his return, but, in view of his recent troubles, coupled with the multiple ankle, wrist, knee, and elbow problems he has faced in the past, he is likely to keep his schedule light to give himself the best chance in Paris for the French Open and Olympics.
