Vamos! Rafael Nadal set to make comeback after year-long absence

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A post shared by Rafa Nadal (@rafaelnadal) Nadal has not played since his defeat in the second round of the Australian Open last January as he struggled with a hip injury during the tournament he won in 2009 and 2022. "I think I don't deserve to end like this," said Nadal, 37, of his Melbourne exit. The Spaniard has undergone surgery twice since and having slumped to 663rd in the world declared in September that the 2024 season would probably be his last.

He has been overtaken in the number of Grand Slam tournaments won by Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic, who now has 24 major titles. Nadal had already experienced a 2021 season undermined by a foot injury, and was eliminated by Djokovic in the semi-final of the French Open. "I won't win more Grand Slams than Djokovic, but I will have the chance to enjoy myself again," Nadal said last month.

"I think that Novak lives it in a more intense way than I have lived it. For him, it would have been a greater frustration not to achieve it (Grand Slams) and maybe that's why he achieved." Nadal will try to return to the highest level in Australia with the aim of competing at the French Open which he has won a record 14 times. "My hope is not to return to win Roland Garros or win (in) Australia, so that people are not confused, all that is a long way off," Nadal said in September.

"I am well aware of the difficulties that I face, one is insurmountable, that is age, and the other are physical problems. "What makes me hopeful is to play again, to be competitive again." Beyond the quest for trophies, Nadal will above all seek to experience a season without injuries, which have been recurring in recent years. "We know that the pain will never disappear, but I've taken a step