Rafael Nadal reveals his ‘first realistic option to be back on court after his doctor...

Rafael Nadal reveals his ‘first realistic option to be back on court’

Rafael Nadal has provided an update on his comeback status, after he shut down the Australian Open tournament director’s ‘confirmation’ that he would definitely be returning to Melbourne next year.

Nadal has been out of action since January, where he picked up a psoas injury in his second round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald at the aforementioned Australian Open.

has lead to the Spaniard having to withdraw from his beloved Roland Garros for the first time since 2004, as well as dropping outside of the world’s top 200.

The 22-time major winner underwent arthroscopic surgery back in June, and has since been recovering in hopes of a potential final season on the ATP Tour in 2024.

Nadal has been releasing some footage of himself returning to the practice court as of late, but was quick to shut down Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley claiming that he would definitely be at the first major of 2024

t week, Tiley told ‘The Today Show’ on Channel Nine in Australia, “We can reveal exclusively here that Rafa will be back.

“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 was not quite as confident when responding to Tiley on X (formerly known as Twitter), “I appreciate the vote of confidence from the Australian Open… I am practising every day and working hard to come back asap

And the 37-year-old has followed up on this at an event in Madrid, “My first realistic option to be back on the professional court would be January in Australia.

“But right now, I really can’t confirm something I don’t know. Nothing has changed in the last few weeks except for the fact that I’m training a bit more than before, which is an accomplishment for me and my mental health.”