At the headquarters of the Queensland Tennis Center (Brisbane). This Tuesday, 2 January 2024 (Eurosport and Movistar+), Rafael Nadal He will be making his 1,289th appearance in the half, the longest break of his career. Almost a year after playing his last match in the second round of the Australian Open (January 18, 2023), he will be back on the court to face a player from the knockout stage. doubles match with friend and now coach Marc Lopez against the Australians Max Purcell And Jordan Thompson.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion announced in his statement after his psoas injury and hip surgery that he is back ready to compete at the highest level, perhaps in his final season.
For me, being here is already a victory. I just want to enjoy the fight.”
His return will undoubtedly be the most complicated he has ever experienced. Nadal was the first name to lower expectations They were shot on their return. “I haven’t raced in a year and that’s too much. For me, being here is already a victory. I just want to feel good on the track, enjoy the challenge and be as competitive as I can.” It’s impossible to think about winning tournaments right now”, he underlined ahead of his debut in the Brisbane tournament.
Nadal’s long absence has seen him drop to world number 672; It’s a position he hasn’t been in since he debuted on the track in 2001 as a 15-year-old. At the time, the 37-year-old former world No. 1 other long losses He was reborn even more powerful than these:
2005: four months
a micro necrosis of the scaphoid bone of his left foot (syndrome Mulelr Weiss) After winning the Madrid Masters 1000 in 2005 and his eleventh title in the same year, he feared his career was over. Fearing the worst, he stayed out for four months with his inseparable doctor until, Angel Ruiz-Cotorro They found a solution to the problem with special insoles that allowed him to compete again.
In February 2006, he took part again in the Marseille indoor tournament, where he reached the semi-finals. He would later win the championship in Dubai. Roger Federer and finished a season with four more tournaments on the clay tour: Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and the second Roland Garros.
2009: three months
Tendonitis in the knees He was rueful about a year that started with winning the Australian Open before suffering his first defeat against the Swede in the round of 16 at Roland Garros. Robin Soderling. He missed Wimbledon and did not reappear until the Canadian Masters 1000 tournament in August, reaching the semifinals of the US Open. abdominal rupturefalling first Juan Martin del Potro.
2012: seven months
he suffered tear in the tendon in the left knee which forced him to resign from the London Olympic Games and the remainder of the season. He would not appear again until the following year in the Viña del Mar tournament, where he reached the final. From there he won tournaments in Sao Paulo, Acapulco, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros.
2014: three months
He was injured in his back lost in the Australian Open final Stan Wawrinka. He took a three-month break after losing at Wimbledon (to Nick Kyrgios) to re-enter the Beijing tournament in October and then resigned from playing in the ATP Finals. dragged in 2015 physical discomfort in the wrists In a season in which he failed to win any tournaments on the clay tour, he fell in the semifinals against Roland Garros. Novak Djokovic.
2018: five months
abdominal injury in view Marin Cilic An injury-plagued season has begun in Australia tendinitis and iliopsoas and right quadriceps problems. Despite all these problems, he prevailed at Roland Garros, became a semi-finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open, and retired against Del Potro in the last match of the year. right knee injury. He re-emerged to play in the Australian final in 2019, which he lost. Novak Djokovic.
2021: SEVEN MONTHS
Injury to the scaphoid bone of the left foot He was tortured in a season that saw him lose in the quarter-finals in Australia. Stefanos Tsitsipas He gave up playing IndiabWells and Miami to re-emerge in Monte Carlo, win the tournaments in Barcelona and Rome and reach the semi-finals against Roland Garros. Novak Djokovic. He missed Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics and was sidelined until the end of the season.
great comeback
He re-emerged in 2022 to win the Melbourne tournament and then won his second Australian Open after an epic final against. Daniil Medvedev returning in sets of five. Nadal’s He chained 21 consecutive wins until losing the Indian Wells final. Taylor Fritzafter that injured ribs in the semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz. He returned to claim his 22nd Grand Slam at Roland Garros.
After that last loss Last season, Nadal played just four matches (over 11 months) and failed to win the title for the first time since 2004. The most complicated comeback of the entire career. The Brisbane tournament will be the first theme of the Australian Open, which will start on January 15.
Then, while he waits to see what his body will be like, the former No. 1 (now world No. 672) will decide which schedule he will have. Roland Garros and Olympic Games marked in red The match will be played at his home in Paris, where he won 14 titles.