Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal, absent from the courts for almost a year with a hip injury, announced Friday that he would return to competition in Brisbane next month ahead of the Australian Open. “Hello everyone, after a year away from competition, it's time to come back. It will be in Brisbane the first week of January. I will see you there,” the 22-time Grand Slam winner said in a post on social media. 

Former world number one Nadal has not played since his defeat in the second round of the Australian Open last January, a tournament he won in 2009 and 2022. “I think I do not deserve to end like this,” said Rafal, referring to his Melbourne exit last year.

The 37-year-old has undergone surgery twice since and having slumped to 663rd in the world after a year without playing declared in September that the 2024 season was going to be his last.

Nadal will try to return to the highest level in Australia with the aim of competing at the French Open which he has won a record 14 times.

He has been overtaken in the number of Grand Slams won by Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic, who now has 24 major titles.