Rafael Nadal To Return To Tennis In February

Spanish tennis icon, Rafael Nadal is expected to return to tennis in February this year as he has accepted to participate in the Qatar Open.

Recall that Rafael Nadal who has not played in any major Grand slams for over a year, is battling to fully recover his fitness level since last year’s Australian Open.

Initially, it was expected that the 37-year-old Spanish tennis icon would make himself available for this year’s Australian Open but his fitness issues didn’t allow him.

Hence, he returned to his home country where he has been making efforts to return to full fitness ahead of other grand slams in 2024.

Rafael Nadal will now resume his journey back to the top of the tennis world by participating in the Qatar Open which is set to start on February 19 and end on February 24.

Aside from Nadal, world number 5 Andrey Rublev, the reigning champion Daniil Medvedev, and Andy Murray are anticipated to compete in the ATP 250 event.

In his first two rounds in Brisbane, the 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal overcame Jordan Thompson in straight sets; however, in the quarterfinals, his injury woes reignited.

Nadal claimed that a scan had shown a little muscle tear, but it wasn’t where his previous, persistent hip issue had been.

In May, following his first-ever absence from the French Open in 19 years, he announced that 2024 would “probably” be his final year in professional tennis. This implies that he might have participated in his last Australian Open already.