Rafael Nadal will return to the court this week in Abu Dhabi, sending fans into a frenzy after the 20-time grand slam champion’s long injury layoff.
The Spanish superstar hasn’t played since re-injuring his foot at a tournament in Washington in August.
He was forced to miss Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics after first suffering the injury at the French Open in May.
He then sat out the US Open after aggravating the injury in Washington in the lead-up to the New York grand slam.
Nadal announced in August that he’d be sitting out the remainder of the tennis season, leaving fans fearful that he wouldn’t be back in time for January’s Australian Open.
However the 35-year-old will make his long-awaited return at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi this week.
Tournament officials released a video of Nadal hitting the practice court in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, sending fans into meltdown.
Can’t wait…?
— l_espressionista (@Lespressionista) December 15, 2021
