Rafael Nadal confirms next tournament after injury ruined Australian Open comeback hope

A fresh injury earlier this month had prematurely cut Rafael Nadal’s comeback plans.

It was at the Brisbane International, during his third-round exit, when Nadal incurred a “micro tear” on his hip muscle, which subsequently forced him to withdraw from the 2024 Australian Open. However, the Spaniard is all set for a return as he confirmed his appearance at the ATP 250 event in Doha, which begins on February 19.

Nadal had made an impressive return in Brisbane after 12 months away from action. In the 2023 Australian Open, during a shock second-round loss in his title-defending campaign, Nadal suffered a major hip injury that put him on the sidelines for the remainder of the calendar year. He looked to recover for the clay court season, but relinquished his opportunity at a probable 15th Slam at the Roland Garros. Nadal later underwent a surgery in June.

Nadal won back-to-back matches in Brisbane this year in stunning fashion, which sparked talks about the 37-year-old being counted among the favourites for the season’s first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park, but a fresh injury forced him out of the Australian Open.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner has, however, indicated that he will make a return next month in Doha after he was named in the entry list for the Qatar Open that begins in less than a month. The last time he played in Doha was in 2016, when he ended as runner-up behind Novak Djokovic. Nadal, however, won the tournament in 2014.

The ATP field in Doha will also comprise defending champion and world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev and compatriots Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov, who make the top three seeds respectively.

The comeback was always on the cards for an optimistic Nadal even as speculations remained on his future following the new hip injury in Brisbane. “I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news,” he had assured in his social-media post.

“I have worked very hard during the year for this comeback and as I always mentioned my goal is to be at my best level in three months,” continued Nadal. “This is not very bad news and we all remain positive with the evolution for the season.”