Rafael Nadal returns after almost a year without playing, although he warns: “It’s impossible for me to think about winning tournaments”

Rafael Nadalwho currently occupies 672nd place in the ATP rankings, will make his return to the field in the tournament BrisbaneATP250 which will begin on Sunday 31st and for which he has received an invitation. In the next few hours we will know his rival.

It is worth remembering that, The Spanish tennis player has not played an official match since January 2023when he fell in the second round of the Australian Open to American Mackenzie McDonald in a match in which he suffered a grade 2 iliopsoas injury in his left leg that forced him to undergo surgery and led to him missing the rest of the match. anus.

Before competing for the second time in Brisbane, as he had already done in 2017, the Majorcan revealed his expectations for the tournament which will represent his first major challenge of the season: “I feel good. I can’t complain, today I feel much better than I expected a month ago, but for me it’s impossible to think about winning tournaments today”. And he continues: “But what is possible is to try to have fun getting back on the pitch. I don’t expect much. Honestly, the only thing I hope for is to get on the pitch, feel competitive and give my best.”

The 22-time Grand Slam winner has spent a lot of time this month at his Kuwait academy seeking temperatures and conditions similar to those he will find in Australia. In this sense, whoever knew how to be the number 1 racket in the world, he expressed: “It will be a tough process at first. In the end, I haven’t been on the tennis court for a year and I’ve only been training for a month with a very good intensity. I’m not saying anything is impossible, but just being here is a victory.“.

“I can’t have goals very long deadline because I don’t see myself playing for a while very long. But in my head, I try to give myself the opportunity to be more and more competitive as the season progresses,” concluded the 14-time Roland Garros winner.

Meanwhile, tennis fans are preparing to enjoy what could be Rafa’s “last dance”, who confessed in a press conference held mid-year: “There is a good chance that 2024 will be my last season”,