Rafael Nadal injury comeback confirmed putting Australian Open pressure on Novak Djokovic

11/04/2021

Rafael Nadal announces end to 2021 season through injury

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Rafael Nadal’s comeback has officially been confirmed. The Spaniard shut down his season ahead of the US Open to recover from a left foot injury he aggravated at Roland Garros, but is now set to take to the court before the end of the year. Nadal has joined the likes of Emma Raducanu and Dominic Thiem at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, a three-day exhibition tournament held every year in Abu Dhabi. The return of the 20-time Major champion adds extra pressure on his rival Novak Djokovic’s decision on competing in the Australian Open.

Nadal had barely played since suffering a shock loss to Djokovic in the semi-final of the French Open, where he is a 13-time champion.

He then withdrew from Wimbledon and the Olympics, later revealing that he was left unable to play tennis for 20 days after aggravating a foot injury during his loss on the clay courts of Paris.

The world No 5 played just two matches at the ATP 500 in Washington before announcing he was ending his season early to recover, and has now officially announced his return.

Nadal will be taking to the courts of Abu Dhabi on December 16, competing in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, where he is a five-time champion.

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He joins Dominic Thiem, who has also targeted the exhibition for his comeback after ending his season with injury in June, Denis Shapovalov and Casper Ruud, while US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic will face-off in a one-off women’s singles exhibition match.

The Spaniard is then planning to travel to Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of 2022, while his rival Novak Djokovic’s chances of competing in Australia are still up in the air.

The confirmation of Nadal’s return to the match court will put pressure on the world No 1, who previously admitted he was unsure whether he would compete in January’s Australian Open.

Government ministers are looking to impose a vaccine mandate, only allowing players who are fully vaccinated into the country, something Djokovic has been against as he refuses to disclose his vaccination status.

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While tournament organisers have been positive that unvaccinated players could compete as long as they underwent a 14-day ‘hard’ hotel quarantine, the Victorian Premier has ruled out making an exception for tennis players and Djokovic himself has now said he will not comment on the matter until a final decision is announced.

Nadal’s imminent comeback will cause problems for the Serb as Nadal, Djokovic and Federer all find themselves tied on 20 Grand Slam titles, and the first to reach 21 will set a new record in men’s tennis.

If the world No 1 is absent in Melbourne, it will leave the Spaniard as the only member of the Big Three competing for the Australian Open title, and a record 21^st Major, as Federer continues his own recovery from an ongoing injury.

“My plan is to play Abu Dhabi in December and then in a tournament before Australia and then the Australian Open. That’s my goal,” Nadal said earlier this week, before his place in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship was officially confirmed.

Speaking on his left foot injury, the 35-year-old added: “The injury in my foot still needs to get a little better, but I’m already training almost an hour and a half a day so that’s positive.

“Some days are better than others, but I’m starting to have a lot more positive days than negative ones. So I’m on the right track. I’m training, I’m feeling better. I’m back on the court.”

Nadal is the only member of the Big Three to only have one Australian Open crown, from 2009, while his rivals have nine and six respectively.

If the world No 5 could manage to lift the trophy in January, he will join Djokovic in having won all the Grand Slam titles multiple times, as Federer only has one Roland Garros victory to his name.
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