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Jose Higueras has warned his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal “a couple of things” could go wrong if he makes his comeback from injury too soon.
The retired tennis star, a former coach of legends Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, feels it would be “pretty tough” for Nadal to make his return at the Australian Open.
Nadal has not competed since suffering a hip injury in his second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January.
The 37-year-old underwent surgery on the issue in June, having initially expected to be out for around six to eight weeks. The 22-time Grand Slam champion was forced to postpone his proposed comeback during the clay-court season and missed the French Open for the first time since 2004.
Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley claimed earlier this month that Nadal had told him he would compete at the 2024 Australian Open in January.
Nadal, though, is yet to confirm when he will make his return and admitted last week he is still experiencing pain during training.
Speaking on Courtside: The US Open Podcast, Higueras explained why he believes it could be a mistake for Nadal to rush his comeback and outlined how many events the Mallorcan may need to start being competitive.
“I am a big believer of not playing until you are ready to play because if you are not ready to play and you go play, a couple of things can happen. One is you can have a setback. Two, you have no chance of winning because the competition is so good,” said the former world No 6.
“So my number one rule is, ‘Okay, am I ready to play?’ If you are ready to play, then the green light goes on and then most of all, you are going to ease your way into the competition. I think it’s pretty tough for Rafa just to start at the Australian Open as the first tournament, after not playing for a year.
“So hopefully he can get a couple of lower-level tournaments that gives him a chance, given his body, to start getting those good feelings about being out there and playing at that level. If his body is good, that’s the main thing, and if there are some reservations, then I will definitely be more careful.
“Sometimes there are some players that can take a few weeks off or a month off and jump into a tournament and pretty much play the same as when they left. Some other players can not take that longer period off and then feel confident or comfortable playing again.
“So coming back from injury as long as Rafa has been out, I would think ideally for him to get two, three, four tournaments – that gives him a little bit of a chance to actually start winning matches and getting those good feelings coming back to him again.”
As well as Federer and Sampras, Higueras has coached a host of other former top players, including: Jim Courier, Sergi Bruguera, Michael Chang, Carlos Moya, Todd Martin, Guillermo Coria and Dimitry Tursunov. The 70-year-old was also the director of coaching for elite player development at the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
The Spaniard won 16 ATP titles and reached two French Open semi-finals, before retiring in 1986.
