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The director of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley, unveiled on Wednesday the return of Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal, double champion of the tournament, to the courts of Melbourne for the 2024 championship.

"We can reveal exclusively that Rafa will return. He's been out for most of the year and, speaking to him the last few days, he confirmed that he's coming back (to the Australian Open), which we're very excited about. It's incredible," Tiley told Channel 9's "Today" show.

The director stressed that Nadal, who previously announced that the next one may be his last season in tennis, "will show up to win", just as he did in 2009 and 2022.

Nadal, 37, "wouldn't come to the tournament unless he thinks he can win it. He won't show up just to play, he'll show up to win," Tiley said of the 22-time Grand Slam winner.

The Australian pointed out that in addition to the Spaniard, the return of other great figures of world tennis is expected, such as the Japanese Naomi Osaka and the Australian Nick Kyrgios.

The next Australian Open will begin on a Sunday, January 14, and will last for 15 days, one more than in previous editions, to avoid players the load of matches and excessive schedules. A change that the tournament itself considers "historic".

Nadal played his last official match on January 18, when he fell in the second round of the Australian Open 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to American Mackenzie McDonald.

Last week he could be seen training on a tennis court at his academy in Manacor (Mallorca) after the hip operation he underwent at the beginning of last June, in a video that he disseminated through his account on the social network Instagram.

In this one, Nadal can be seen returning forehand and backhand balls from the back of the court as part of a training session thinking about his return to competition.

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  • tennis
  • Rafa Nadal