(Sydney) After almost a year without playing, Rafael Nadal is preparing to return to the courts in Brisbane, Australia, kicking off a probable final season in a career punctuated by legendary exploits, injuries and comebacks thunderous.
The 37-year-old Spaniard, who has 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 at Roland-Garros, hopes above all to “be competitive” after an almost blank 2023 season.
Throughout his career, his very physically demanding style of play forced him to regularly deal with serious knee, wrist and foot problems.
His latest relapse, during the Australian Open in January 2023, resulted in two hip operations which fueled fears that he would never be able to step on the courts again. But the Mallorcan fought to be able to play what he believes could be his last season, to say goodbye to the fans, “to have fun again”, but also to be competitive.
“I don’t know at what level (I can play), I don’t know what to expect, I have no idea, but I don’t care right now,” Nadal said this month – here, looking ahead to 2024. “I’m just happy to be back and very excited to put in the effort to have fun, and I think I’ll be competitive.”
His coach Carlos Moya explained how difficult it was to get to this point, admitting that at times he thought Nadal’s career was over.
“When you go through a process like this surgery… at the end of the day, going under the knife is really the last resort to try to come back and get out on court,” Moya told the ATP website last week . “It hasn’t been a smooth ride, far from it. The road has been winding, winding, with many turns.”
This fierce will is the key behind his 92 tournament wins since he turned professional in 2001, including 22 Grand Slam titles.
Nadal has outclassed the French Open, where he has won 14 of his majors, the first a few days after his 19th birthday in 2005, the last in 2022, making him the oldest champion at the event.
Four times crowned at the United States Open, he also won twice at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
Nadal, whose athleticism, power, mental toughness and brilliant forehand have made him one of the greatest players of all time, would no doubt be well advised to learn to save himself a little he wants to hold out until the end of 2024.
But Moya admitted it was difficult for his protégé to harness his natural competitiveness.
“Even if we try to get that into his head and make him understand, when he enters a tennis court, he is a competitive animal,” underlined the former world No.1.
“A lot of my job and the team’s job has been to slow him down. Slow it down in terms of training load, slow it down in terms of work hours, intensity,” he summarized.
Ahead of the Australian Open, Nadal spent time at his academy in Kuwait, seeking temperatures and conditions similar to those he will encounter for the first Grand Slam tournament of the season.
He trained with young Frenchman Arthur Fils, and according to Moya, it went “much better than he could have hoped.”
“Rafa went there thinking that he would not be competitive, that he would not be good enough, and he left convinced that it was possible,” assured his coach.
“I think he is ready to do big things this year too,” said his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, world No.2, when questioned on the subject in Riyadh.
