After months of thinking about “will he or won’t he?” return, the tennis world got some very positive news this week about Rafael Nadal. The all-time great hasn’t played since January 2023 due to a hip flexor injury. Nadal then decided to have surgery on his hip over the summer and any idea of if or when he would return to playing professional tennis was anyone’s guess, including Nadal himself.
This week, though, Rafael Nadal said something fantastic. Nadal said, “…the steps toward trying to play again have been big and positive, which is what we have been fighting for for several months.” Big and positive. Those are excellent words, right?
Nadal did not, however, say exactly when he would be back. He said he would hope to have more information on that in the coming weeks. He has recently got back to training, though. The tennis season begins in early January and the first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, begins on January 15.
Rafael Nadal inching closer to returning to tennis
That is an earlier start to the first major than normal. As every week seems important in getting Rafael Nadal back in the right condition to play high-level tennis, the early start to the Aussie Open might mean Nadal is not going to be ready for that.
Nadal might also wait to come back until the clay court season which begins in full in April. Most likely, many tennis fans do not want to read that Nadal will not return for several more months, and he could return well before then, but clay is an easier surface on the body than the hard courts of the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal did make a fairly big admission, too. He is not sure if he will ever play at the level we became accustomed to on his way to winning 22 Grand Slams. Said Nadal, “My gut says it will be very difficult to get back to a good level of tennis. If I wasn’t hopeful of trying to be competitive, I wouldn’t be doing everything I’ve done over the past months at my age and after a long career.”
He added, “I won’t win more Grand Slams than (Novak) Djokovic, but I will have the chance to enjoy myself again.” We should all have that same hope, right? Just to be able to enjoy ourselves.
Rafael Nadal recently conceded in an interview with the ATP Tour that he would not be able to match Novak Djokovic in the Grand Slam race. Djokovic is 2 ahead of Nadal, with 24 to his name and is likely to make it No.25 at least at the Australian Open 2024. But many of the Spaniard’s enthusiastic supporters believe that Nadal still has one Grand Slam win at least left in him before he quits the game probably by the end of next year or 2025 assuming that his body holds up by then.
Recently on X, there was a tweet put out presumably by a Rafael Nadal enthusiast which revealed an unheard-of anecdote about the Spanish legend. This wasn’t even mentioned by Nadal in his autobiography which he released nearly a decade ago. And it was about his experience watching the French Open for the first time back in 2004.
Apparently, Nadal did not even see the face of the center court at Roland Garros in Paris, named Phillippe-Chatrier before the 2004 edition of the competition. But he chose to watch some of the matches from the stands with his then manager, Tuts who was a Nike representative. As a player who was to turn 18 in June that year, it only took him one look at the court to correctly declare in private to Tuts that ‘I’m going to cause some trouble here!’ in the future.
In a classic case of self-prophecy coming true, the clay court specialist Rafael Nadal made the most of playing for the first time at the French Open in 2005 and won the tournament, coming into it as the 4th seed. Nadal had a tricky draw from the 3rd round onwards, having to beat two experienced Frenchmen back-to-back, i.e. Richard Gasquet and Sebastian Grosjean.
He backed up those victories by easing past fellow Spaniard and good friend, David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. The biggest win for Rafael Nadal was when he beat the World No.1, Roger Federer in 4 sets in the semifinals. But Rafa didn’t have it easy in the final either, having to bounce back after losing the first set to win against Mariano Puerta for his first-ever Grand Slam title.
Rafael Nadal having that level of self-awareness and belief in his abilities at that age, is quite a story. As a result, the unfortunate part was that in 2003 and 2004, the Spaniard could not participate in the French Open due to sustaining injuries at the 11th hour virtually. In 2003, Nadal fell while perhaps needlessly loitering around the net during training, which damaged his elbow severely. While in 2004, he was aiming to recover from the same foot injury that has caused him trouble many times over the years.
In both those years, the draw was so wide open that even Grand Slam champions such as Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin and Andy Roddick could not go the distance. As a result, Carlos Alcaraz’s current coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero won in 2003 while the now nearly-forgotten name from Argentina, Gaston Gaudio took home the title in 2004.
Now, it is well known too that Rafael Nadal made a name for himself first in the tennis world at the age of 16 in 2003, defeating his now coach, Carlos Moya in Hamburg back in 2003 on a clay court. So it is extremely likely that had Nadal played at Roland Garros in 2003 and 2004, he would have virtually had no challenger for 2 Grand Slam titles. Roger Federer was more of a grass court specialist who only won his first hard court Grand Slam in January 2004 and had no credentials as such to challenge for a clay championship.
Rafael Nadal 2024 tennis comeback update
It is no secret that Rafael Nadal has had to battle multiple injuries throughout his career. The fact that Nadal has played professional tennis for so many years and was at the top of his game despite all his challenges is a feat in itself which perhaps no player before him had done so or after him would do so.
With the Rafael Nadal 2024 tennis comeback news confirmed by the player himself recently, it has drawn many positive reactions from the tennis world, including Novak Djokovic. Despite not being ‘friends’ with each other and often trading barbs due to their difference of opinions, Novak Djokovic graciously said that it is great for the sport that Rafael Nadal would be making a comeback.
Djokovic expressed his desire to play Nadal in a men’s singles match at least one more time as the Spaniard could call it a day depending on how he can manage his injuries. The Serb also lauded the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s spirit and passion for the sport, claiming that it is admirable that the 14-time French Open champion manages to bounce back every time from injuries successfully.
Earlier, Australian Open director Craig Tiley announced that Nadal is set to feature in the season-opening Grand Slam, Down Under. But Nadal had been non-committal in the public.
After an injury-marred year, there were concerns around Rafael Nadal’s return to the game. On Thursday, however, the Spaniard gave the strongest hint yet that there is still tennis left in him and a comeback is definitely on the cards.
Nadal, who has played just four matches on the tour all year, underwent surgery on a hip muscle in June after withdrawing from a spate of events during his favourite clay court season.
“I confirmed yesterday I’ll be back, Stay tuned these days when I decide and announce with my team when and where,” Nadal posted a message on his social media channels.
Elaborating his plans for a comeback, Nadal told ATP Tour that the hope was always there that he would play at some level once again but only can he confirm that he is ready to step back onto the courts once again.
“Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good,” he was quoted as saying.
“We know that the pain will never disappear, but I’ve taken a step forward,” added the Spaniard. “That’s a lot for me. Talking about tennis is another matter altogether, as is the level I’ll be able to play at. But the steps toward trying to play again have been big and positive, which is what we have been fighting for for several months. I’m confident I’ll be able to say something more specific in the coming weeks.”
In May this year, Nadal had announced his withdrawal from Roland Garros, missing out altogether at his favourite tournament for the first time in his career. Back then, he had hinted that – if he is able to make a comeback after all – that 2024 could well be his last season as a professional. “I try to enjoy and try to say goodbye [to] all the tournaments that have been important for me in my tennis career during [next] year and just try to enjoy that that, being competitive and enjoying being on court,” he had said then.
“It would be nice for the sport to have at least one more match between Nadal and me,” Djokovic told reporters at the sidelines of the ATP Finals when asked about Nadal’s comeback. “That’s the biggest rivalry, in terms of the amount of matches played, that this sport has ever had. So hopefully that can happen. He’s a big warrior, he’s somebody who never gives up and with all the injuries that he had, keeps going. “That’s definitely something that you have to respect and admire about him and his spirit. For the world of tennis, no doubt that it’s amazing news that he will be back.”
Earlier, Australian Open director Craig Tiley announced that Nadal is set to feature in the season-opening Grand Slam, Down Under. But Nadal had been non-committal in the public, instead thanking the tournament for the vote of confidence and that he would continue to train hard to make it.
Rafael Nadal’s Return Date Revealed? Here’s The Latest Update On Tennis Superstar’s Comeback From Hip Injury
Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal has been away from action for nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that needed surgery. He last played in the Australian Open in January, which is where Nadal picked up the injury
Rafael Nadal is sure he’ll be returning to competition after missing nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that required surgery. And now he says he’ll be revealing his comeback plans soon. (Tennis News)
Nadal wrote Thursday on social media: “I confirmed yesterday I’ll be back” and punctuated that message with a smiling emoji.
“Stay tuned,” he continued in the Instagram post, which included a photograph of him about to hit a backhand. He said that in the coming days he will “decide and announce with my team when and where” everyone can expect to see him in action.
Next season begins in late December, with the year’s first major tournament, the Australian Open, scheduled to begin main-draw matches on January 14.
“For the world of tennis, no doubt that it’s amazing news that he’ll be back,” Novak Djokovic said at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Nadal, whose 22 Grand Slam singles titles rank second to Djokovic’s 24 for the most among men, has not played on tour since last January, when he hurt his hip flexor during a loss to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open.
In May, a little more than a week before the start of his beloved French Open, Nadal announced that he would miss the tournament he’s won a record 14 times and wasn’t exactly sure when he might return to play.
He said then he hoped to compete in 2024, which he expected to be his final season.
You never know how things will turn out,” Nadal said at a news conference at the time, “but my intention is that next year will be my last year.”
He wound up having arthroscopic surgery in June in Barcelona.
Dating to the end of 2022, the 37-year-old Spanish left-hander has lost seven of his past nine matches, including going 1-3 this season.
With Roger Federer, who won 20 majors, having announced his retirement in 2022, and Nadal missing much of this year, Djokovic was the only member of the so-called Big Three of men’s tennis who was active throughout 2023 — and the 36-year-old from Serbia was dominant, particularly at the Grand Slam tournaments. He won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open and reached the final at Wimbledon.
“I think it would be nice for the sport to have at least one more match between Nadal and me. That’s the biggest rivalry in terms of the amount of matches played that this sport ever had. Hopefully that can happen,” Djokovic said.
“He’s a big warrior. He’s somebody that really never gives up. With all the injuries that he had, keeps going. That’s definitely something that you have to respect and admire about him and his spirit.”
Rafael Nadal, who has only played four matches this season, the last of them on January 18 in the second round of the Australian Open, is paying the consequences of his long inactivity as a result of the hip injury that forced him to undergo surgery.
This week he drops to 662nd in the ATP rankings after losing 210 points out of 255. That means Nadal drops to No. 662 and is left with 45 second-round spots in the first major of 2023.
To find the last time Nadal appeared so far down the rankings, you have to go back to April 29 2002 when he was ranked 762nd.
The Spaniard, who is still training with a view to making a comeback on the upcoming tour of the Antipodes, is guaranteed invitations to tournaments, and can also use his protected ranking.
However, at the time of his return, he is exposed to have very complicated first rounds in which he could face the players who currently make up the world’s top 10.
Pablo Carreno, who last Friday underwent surgery to solve his right elbow discomfort, will close the year also out of the top 600 positions.
A Novak Djokovic superfan has done a numerical comparison between the Big Three of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and there is a clear winner in terms of the greatest player of all time when it comes to the overall statistics.
@Yolitatennis has been keeping a spreadsheet for a couple of years now and the latest figures once again make for pretty reading if you are a Djokovic fan.
The Serbian won his 40th ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday when he defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the final of the Paris Masters with the trophy also taking him to 97 career titles – just six behind Federer and 12 adrift of Jimmy Connors’ overall Open Era record of 109.
But Djokovic’s latest singles title moved him to 70 “Big Titles” (Grand Slams, ATP Finals and ATP Masters 1000), well clear of his two rivals as Nadal is on 58 titles and Federer on 54.
Their tallies are broken down as follows:
Novak Djokovic Big Titles
24 – Grand Slams
6 – ATP Finals
40 – ATP Masters 1000
Rafael Nadal Big Titles
22 – Grand Slams
0 – ATP Finals
36 – ATP Masters 1000
Roger Federer Big Titles
20 – Grand Slams
6 – ATP Finals
28 – ATP Masters 1000
With his win today, Novak only needs to win one RR match in Turin to guarantee the YE#1 ranking for a record 8th time and 406 weeks as #1.
It is *almost* guaranteed, but not quite.
Here is my table updated: 40 masters, 70 big titles.
Total ranking points earned are also taken into consideration and it is adjusted to the current format as before 2009 a different system was used. Djokovic started his 398th week at No 1 on Monday and his total ranking points are 166,864 with Federer second in this particular category with 164,384 and Nadal with 148,997.
Other categories include Win-Loss Percentage with Djokovic on 83.68%, Nadal on 82.92% and Federer on 81.98% for “general wins” and Big Five Wins (Djokovic on 57 against Big Three, Nadal on 53 and Federer on 39).
Djokovic also leads the Streaks classification for Big Titles (Grand Slams, ATP Finals, ATP Masters, Big Titles, Weeks at No 1) and Other Achievements.
The Other Achievement list includes the Career Grand Slam with Djokovic achieving the feat three times, Nadal twice and Federer once. Djokovic is the only player with a Career Masters as he has won all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles twice over the course of his career with his two rivals on zero. Djokovic has also twice done the “Big Titles Sweep”.
However, Nadal leads the way with the most Olympic medals as he has two gold medals to his name (one in singles and one in doubles) while Federer has one gold medal in doubles and Djokovic has one bronze medal in singles.
There is one clear winner for numerical comparisons and it is Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic makes more than enough talking points on the court, but he has also mastered the art of making even more in his media briefings.
Djokovic eased past Grigor Dimitrov to claim a record-extending seventh Paris Masters title on Sunday.
After needing three sets to win each of his previous three matches, the world No 1 found the going more straightforward in the final as he saw off the Bulgarian 6-4, 6-3.
It was also the Serbian’s 40th Masters 1000 crown, another record, and his 97th on the ATP Tour.
After battling sickness all week to overcome a strong field and confirm his status as the undisputed No 1 in men’s tennis, Djokovic used his media appearances after the match to make some telling points.
While he did not mention his great rival Rafael Nadal directly, some of Djokovic’s comments in Paris were clearly referencing some contentious comments made by the Spaniard in his interview with Movistar+ in September.
Nadal claimed Djokovic wanted to secure the biggest records in tennis in a “more intense” way than he did and suggested that may be why he is set to finish his career with the most Grand Slam titles.
“I am not frustrated (to miss out on the Grand Slam record) for a simple reason – within my possibilities, I have done everything to make things as good as possible,” Nadal explained.
“Yes, you can live frustrated with 22 Grand Slams, for example, Novak lives it in a more intense way. For him, it would have been a greater frustration not to achieve it. Perhaps that is why he achieved it.
“I believe that numbers are numbers and statistics are statistics. In that sense, I think he has better numbers than mine and that is indisputable. I don’t have an ego big enough to try to disguise a reality.
“This is the truth. The rest are sensations that one or the other (player) may transmit to you, that you may like one or the other more.”
Those comments did not appear to be welcomed by Djokovic, who responded with the following remarks: “I’ve seen that his comments went viral, that many people spoke about it.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, how he interprets someone else in a certain context etc. That’s all I can say.
“Rafa is a great champion and I respect and appreciate him as such – as a great champion, my biggest rival and as a player who contributed to shaping my game and to the results I’ve accomplished.”
Now he has expanded on those words, as he insisted he is not trying to hide his desire to cement his legacy as the greatest player of all time, as he suggested others “pretend” not to be motivated by the record books.
“I’m going for all possible records, all that I can break. I’ve never had a problem saying that and that’s why people don’t like me,” said Djokovic in Paris.
“I didn’t pretend like some people.. to say that it’s not my goal, and then to behave differently after. I always tried to be in line with what I believe.”
Djokovic is now eyeing up one of the greatest records in tennis, with his win at the Paris Masters bringing him to within 12 titles of Jimmy Conners, who holds the all-time record with 109.
“As far as the record for the number of ATP tournaments won is concerned, everything is possible,” he added.
“Why shouldn’t I try to break that record too? Now I have 12 less (than Connors) but I also have a few more years of successful tennis.
“I try to enjoy these moments that now mean and are worth double. When you consider the stage of my life & career that I am in and to win such a big tournament.
“Although it may seem like a routine to people, every win at the Masters & Grand Slam levels really means so much to me.”
The Djokovic winning machine continues to roll and he is showing no sign of slowing down at the age of 36.
Rafael Nadal, the tennis legend, is not just about his intense game on the court. Besides his one true love for tennis as a sport, the Spaniard always keeps taking breaks to explore other arenas as well. From being a proud supporter of Real Madrid and never missing a chance to catch their matches to partaking in Golf and Cycling for leisure, the tennis legend keeps revealing his different shades. Now, something else has caught his fancy.
As fans eagerly wait for him to be back on tours after such a long hiatus from professional courts, the legend surprised his social corner with a new hobby that he appears to have discovered lately. While there’s still no confirmation on the chatter of him being back at the Australian Open, this heartwarming Instagram post acted as a stress buster for his fans.
Soon after the ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal took a break from his professional career, fans started to miss their favorite player slamming every other opponent with his tough form. With the break having been extended to almost a year now, the Spaniard informed his fans about his slow recovery from the injury as he started training again. As fans eagerly await his return, Rafa decided to kick back and relax on a Saturday afternoon.
In his most recent Instagram post, the tennis legend gave the social world a sneak peek into his leisurely day spent with friends. Instead of his usual tennis practice with his uncle or coaching team, he took some time off for a different game – Shuffleboard. The photo he shared shows a wooden table with a shiny surface and labeling on it. Along with the picture, he also added a caption that said, “Saturday afternoon… enjoying my time somewhere playing with friends… Can you guess what this game is? 😉 I ❤️ it!”
While his 2024 Australian Open return is not yet confirmed, Rafa’s fans can take comfort in knowing that he’s making the most of his time off and enjoying the company of his friends. While fans can’t wait to see him back on the court, a recent update by his uncle Tony helped fans with a satisfying hint.
Uncle Tony Nadal shares the latest Rafa Nadal comeback update
Toni Nadal, who guided Rafael Nadal’s career to greatness, shared an update on his nephew’s comeback journey a while ago. The veteran coach gave his agreement on Rafa being cautious about his comeback, though also optimistic.
Rafa’s uncle and longtime coach said, “My nephew intends to be cautious, which is the right approach. But I believe that for the Australian Open, my nephew should be in good condition to compete, all going well, because I have seen him train.” The 37-year-old tennis legend had to withdraw from the Australian Open earlier this year due to an injury, but there’s hope on the horizon for its next edition.
Toni Nadal, who is also the director of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, expressed these words of optimism during an interview with the Onda Cero Spanish radio station. While there might be challenges ahead, the tennis world eagerly awaits the return of the beloved Rafa, and Toni Nadal’s confidence adds to the expectations of seeing the Mallorcan maestro back in action on the courts.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are clearly two of the best tennis players to ever walk the earth. But one thing they do not seem to do is go out to eat with each other very often. Maybe the tennis schedule or the level of competition they have had facing each other, but Novak Djokovic recently confirmed that he and Nadal are not friends.
This doesn’t mean they actively dislike each other, of course. And to be fair, they don’t have to be friends. But likely many of us would think it would be fun if Djokovic and Nadal were buddies and having a few drinks at a bar somewhere swapping stories about winning tournaments and the secrets to their trade that mere mortals would never understand.
While Rafael Nadal is only about one year older than Novak Djokovic – nearly exactly one year older, Nadal began playing on the ATP tour (2003) a couple of years before the Serb (2005) and this seems to have made a bit of a difference. Nadal was more quickly a rival of Roger Federer than Djokovic was, and Nadal versus Federer was more of an entrenched part of our collective tennis fan psyche than Djokovic versus anyone else.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal aren’t friends, but maybe one day they will be
By the time Novak Djokovic won his first Grand Slam (2008 Australian Open), Nadal had already been to five major finals and won three of them. Nadal was just a little bit ahead of Djokovic and this probably made it more difficult for them to get to know one another.
Recently, Nadal has also said some disparaging things about Djokovic, even if Nadal didn’t mean to be disrespectful. Nadal implied that Djokovic was somewhat blinded by his seeming need to win the most Grand Slams and that maybe the strive to be the best ever meant that Djokovic was lacking something personally. I am not sure if that is what Nadal meant, but one could certainly take that away from what he said.
But now Nadal and Novak Djokovic are likely both close to the ends of their careers, Nadal more than Djokovic. But with so much time to reflect on their respective careers and look forward to what happens after competitive tennis is done, maybe the two greats could become friends.
That is what Novak Djokovic hopes anyway. He told French TV show ‘C a Vous”, “Yes, Rafa (Nadal) is a very special player for me, for my whole evolution as a player. We’re not really friends, but we respect each other. I hope that after our careers, we can have a drink on the beach, talk about life.”
Wouldn’t that be nice? If they do end up having a conversation on the beach somewhere, hopefully someone is recording the conversation. Because if they do, any wisdom dropped from Nadal or Djokovic will help the rest of the world become better tennis players.
Rafael Nadal believes there’s only one answer to the question of the greatest men’s tennis player of all time.
“I believe that numbers are numbers and statistics are statistics,” he said in an interview with Spanish newspaper AS (via ESPN.com). “In that sense, I think [Novak Djokovic] has better numbers than mine and that is indisputable.
“This is the truth. The rest are tastes, inspiration, sensations that one or the other may transmit to you, that you may like one or the other more. I think that, with respect to titles, Djokovic is the best in history and there is nothing to discuss about that.”
Djokovic broke Nadal’s all-time Grand Slam titles record at the French Open in June. He added a 24th major trophy when he beat Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the U.S. Open final.
Arguing about the greatest ever in any sport is always a subjective exercise, but Djokovic has certainly built a compelling case.
The 36-year-old has excelled on multiple surfaces. Even at the French Open, which Nadal has historically dominated, his three titles are tied for the third-most in the Open era. He also boasts a winning record against both Nadal (30-29) and Roger Federer (27-23).
Considering the absurdly high level at which he continues to play, one can’t rule out Djokovic finally winning a calendar Grand Slam in 2024, either. He was ultimately one set away from pulling it off this year, with Carlos Alcaraz denying him in the Wimbledon final.
Should that ever happen, it might be the final word in tennis’ GOAT discourse.
