Rafael Nadal Set For Australian Open 2024 Comeback, Says Tournament Chief

Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley has boldly announced that Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal will make his Grand Slam tennis comeback at the 2024 edition of the event. The Australian Open is slated to take place on January 14-28, 2024.

"We can reveal exclusively here that Rafa will be back," Tiley said.

"He's been off for most of the year and in talking to him over the last few days he confirmed he will be back, which we're really excited about, the champion of 2022. That's awesome," he said, while speaking on "The Today Show" on Nine Network Australia.

Nadal's long-term injury

It may be remembered that the 22-time Grand Slam champion suffered a hip flexor injury at the Australian Open earlier this year. He only made it as far as the second round before losing to Mackenzie McDonald, 4-6, 4-6, 5-7. He battled through the pain and admitted after that he did not want to pull out in the middle of the match and fought hard to see it through.

He took several months off to recover, with many believing that he would be back for the clay season in mid-year. However, as the French Open approached, Nadal was forced to admit that his recovery was not going as well as he hoped. He made the tough decision to skip Roland Garros this year, promising to return in 2024 for what would likely be his final season on the professional tour.

He then underwent hip surgery in June, effectively putting him out of action for the rest of the year.

Now, if Tiley's announcement is to be believed, the 37-year-old is expecting to be back in action in less than three months. Typically, players participate in warm-up events in late December and early January to prepare for the first Grand Slam of the year. It remains to be seen if Nadal will sign up for any of those tournaments.

Nadal will likely play his last Australian Open in 2024

There is no doubt that Nadal will be aiming to participate in the Australian Open if he will indeed retire at the end of the 2024 season. He will want to bid a proper farewell to the tournament which he won twice, with his latest trophy coming in 2022.

Nadal is reportedly back in court, but the announcement needs to be taken with a grain of salt. It will be highly unlikely for Nadal to force his return to competitive tennis if it means risking an injury setback. Nadal will have been out of action for a year in January, and he will not want to make a premature comeback which will put him back in the sidelines.

Furthermore, it should be expected that Nadal will want to be fully fit for what could possibly be his final French Open appearance later in the year. Roland Garros is scheduled to take place in June, and after having won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles in Paris, he will probably want to make sure that he will be able to be there next year.

Nadal and his representatives have remained mum about his plans since announcing that he will be skipping the 2023 season altogether.

Tiley also announced that apart from Nadal, former women's champions Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki are also planning to return from maternity leave by the time the Australian Open comes along.

Despite all of his bold statements, it has to be pointed out that Tiley previously claimed that Serena Williams will be ready to play in the 2018 edition of the event after she had a baby in September 2017. However, she was not able to play.

It now remains to be seen if Melbourne Park will be graced by the presence of one of the sport's greatest players of all time come January.