Rafael Nadal shared highly anticipated news this Friday, signaling a return to competitive tennis at the Brisbane tournament in the season’s opening week (December 31 to January 7). It has been nearly a year since his last appearance at a match, and he will come back to action at the Australian Open, despite carrying an unprecedented ranking in his career.
Relating to
With only 45 points separating him from the second round of Australia, the Manacor native will line up at the Brisbane event, currently ranked 663 in the ATP rankings. Although his long injury layoff presents two potential paths for competition, it does not automatically guarantee entry into any ATP category tournament.
One option is to accept invitations. Tournament organizers will be eager to feature Nadal because every field would benefit from his presence, as demonstrated by his impact last season.
The other option involves using a protected ranking. This mechanism works by allowing a player to return to competition after six months out due to injury. The ATP protects that ranking so Nadal can enter the next nine tournaments, or twelve if no matches were played for a year, based on the three-month average since his last event. For Nadal, this could place him around world number 9, though the system does not permit seeding in the tournaments he enters.
Nadal has stated that he plans to compete using a protected ranking, a move that would also allow other players to receive invitations. “If I can play with a protected rank so I don’t rely on direct invitations from others, that would be better,” he noted.
Having nine tournaments on the schedule would give Nadal enough time to regain form. If he starts strongly and performs well in the early events, he might not need to use the full extent of his protected ranking.
Olympic Games, another story
The Paris Games next summer look promising as well. If his body allows, Nadal could pursue a place in the Olympic tennis event, assuming the Balearic star is motivated and available. A long injury layoff could actually help in this regard, as it might influence decisions from the ITF and event organizers.
The ITF could issue an invitation based on his career achievements in the Olympic Games and Davis Cup or Billie Jean King Cup. With Nadal’s extensive history of merit, an invitation seems plausible, easing his participation into the Olympic program should he decide to pursue it. [Source: Official announcements and federation guidelines, 2025]