It has been a given since the announcement he made last Friday: Rafael Nadal will play the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane (December 31 – January 7), almost a year after his last official match, during the second round of the Australian Open on January 18, 2022, against the American Mackenzie McDonald. “I know it’s a tough tournament, but I hope to be ready to play, I don’t aspire to anything else, just to be competitive,” said the 37-year-old former world number 1 in a new video posted on his social networks.
The Spaniard with 22 Grand Slam titles, falling to 664th place in the ATP, did not try to hide his doubts, after having taken so long to treat a stubborn hip. “I think I’m ready to come back, I don’t know at what level, I don’t know what to expect, I have no idea, but I don’t care,” he said .
After the hip operation he underwent, “the horizon changed, the path was difficult” according to Nadal. “There were a lot of doubts, there were times when it seemed impossible that this day would arrive, but I kept the motivation and the hope” of coming back, added the Mallorcan.