Rafael Nadal Disregard The Circulating Information On The Coming…

No date has been set for Rafael Nadal’s return to action from hip surgery,
despite Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley claiming the former
champion will compete.

The Spaniard, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, has been out of action since
January after picking up a hip flexor injury in a second-round defeat at the
Australian Open.

Nadal, the 37-year-old former world No 1, underwent surgery on a hip muscle in
June and was initially expected to be sidelined for about five months.

We can reveal exclusively here that Rafa will be back,” Tiley said on The
Today Show.

“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.”

However, Nadal and his team have made no decision on whether he will return to
action in Melbourne.

It is believed while his camp are aware of comments from Tiley, there is no
concrete date in place on when he will be back in any sort of competitive
action having recently returned to practice.

Nadal has said he expects to retire following the 2024 season, with a series
of injuries limiting his appearances on Tour.

The Spaniard has slipped to No 240 in the rankings but is eligible to receive
a protected ranking having been injured and not competed in any tennis event
for at least six months.

Nadal has won the Australian Open twice, most recently in 2022 when he beat
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and became the first man in the Open Era to come back
from two sets down in the final to win.