Tennis: In Brisbane, Rafael Nadal "aspires to nothing but to be competitive"
Rafael Nadal, who plans to return to the court in January at the tournament in Brisbane, Australia, said on Wednesday that he only aspires to "be competitive", almost a year after playing his last match. "I know it's a tough tournament, but hopefully I'm ready to play, I don't aspire to anything else, just to be competitive," Nadal, 37, said in a new video posted on his social media. The former world No. 1, who has fallen to 664th in the ATP rankings, announced last Friday his return to competition at the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane (December 31 to January 7), after a 2023 season that was almost blank due to a hip injuryThe last match of the Spaniard, winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments, was his defeat in the 2nd round of the Australian Open last January. Ithink I'm ready to come back, I don't know at what level, I don't know what to expect, I have no idea, but I don't care," Nadal said.After the hip surgery he underwent, "the horizon changed, the path was difficult" according to the Mallorcan. "There were a lot of doubts, there were times when it seemed impossible that this day would come, but I kept the motivation and hope" to come back, he added.
Spain's Rafael Nadal won his 14th Roland-Garros tournament on Sunday, June 5, 2022, against Norway's Casper Ruud. (Illustration). © Pierre René-Worms/RFI
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