Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley has confirmed the news we’ve all been waiting for – revealing Rafa Nadal will be playing at the Australian Open in January. Nadal hasn’t played on the ATP Tour since the 2023 Australian Open, meaning it will be a full 12 months out when he returns to Melbourne Park.
The 37-year-old suffered a hip injury at this year’s Australian Open, which has kept him out of action ever since. The 22-time grand slam champion previously revealed that 2024 will be his last year in professional tennis, but there were concerns that he wouldn’t be ready in time for the first grand slam of the year.
On Wednesday morning, Tiley confirmed that Nadal will make the trip to Australia and play at Melbourne Park. “The return of some of the greats, and those champions who have been off for a couple of years,” Tiley said on Channel 9’s ‘Today’ show. “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. That’s awesome.”
Tiley also said he’s confident Nick Kyrgios will be playing. The Australian has only played one match at ATP level this year due to knee and wrist injuries.
He withdrew from the Australian Open on the eve of the tournament, and aborted his plans for a return at Wimbledon. “We know Nick’s been in training so we expect to see him back.,” Tiley said.
