Rafael Nadal confirms his next tournament in Doha after his injury shattered the possibility of a comeback at the Australian Open

With his confirmation of his participation in the ATP 250 event in Doha, which starts on February 19, the Spaniard is ready to make a comeback.
Rafael Nadal’s ambitions for a comeback were abruptly cut short earlier this month due to a new ailment. Nadal suffered a “micro tear” on his hip muscle at the Brisbane International during his third-round defeat, forcing him to pull out of the 2024 Australian Open. But the Spaniard is ready to make a comeback, having announced that he would play in the ATP 250 event in Doha, which starts on February 19.

In Brisbane, Nadal had made a remarkable comeback to play following a 12-month hiatus. After suffering a significant hip injury in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open, which ended his title defense attempt, Rafael Nadal was sidelined for the rest of the year. He passed up the chance to likely complete a 15th Slam at Roland Garros in favor of healing for the clay court season. Later in June, Nadal had surgery.

This year, Nadal stunned everyone by winning back-to-back matches in Brisbane. This led to speculation that the 37-year-old would be one of the favorites for Melbourne Park’s first Grand Slam of the season. However, a new injury kept Nadal out of the Australian Open.

Nevertheless, after being added to the entry list for the Qatar Open, which starts in less than a month, the 22-time Grand Slam champion has hinted that he will return to Doha the following month. When he competed in Doha last, it was in 2016. He finished second against Novak Djokovic. But in 2014, Nadal emerged victorious in the competition.

Daniil Medvedev, the reigning champion and ranked third in the world, along with fellow countrymen Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov, who secure the top three seeds, will also be competing in the ATP field in Doha.

Even though there were still questions about Rafael Nadal’s future after suffering a new hip injury in Brisbane, the player was always planning on making a comeback. In his social media post, he had promised, “I have a micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news.”

Nadal went on, “I’ve worked really hard this year to make a comeback, and as I’ve always stated, my goal is to be at my best level in three months.” “We all remain positive about the evolution for the season, and this is not very bad news.”