Rafael Nadal is close to returning to the tennis courts. Speaking to the local press, the Spaniard expressed optimism about his recovery from a hip injury, which left him out of the sport 10 months ago.
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“I’m in a good time in my life. Until now I didn’t know if I would play again. Now, I sincerely believe that I will return. When I define (the return date) I will be the first to say,” said Nadal.
As a result, at 37 years old, the tennis player experienced physical problems in 2023. His last tournament was the Australian Open, in January, when he fell in the second round to North American Mackenzie McDonald.
Nadal, however, avoided creating greater expectations. He believes it will be difficult to return to playing at a high level and was skeptical about surpassing Djokovic as the biggest Grand Slam winner.
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“We’ll see how much I play and at what level. I imagine it will be very difficult to regain a very high level. I won’t win more Grand Slams than Djokovic, but I want to enjoy it again”, he added.
It’s worth remembering that due to the inactive year, Nadal fell to 664th place in the rankings. The expectation is that his return will be at the 2024 Australian Open, and tournament officials even confirmed the Spaniard’s presence, who soon spoke out and cooled the speculation.
Nadal has won 22 career Grand Slams. The last one was at Roland Garros, in 2022. In the same year, he also won the Australian Open.