With hope in his eyes, Rafa Nadal has regained the conviction that he will play tennis professionally again. He does not want to venture to say when yet, although he does not rule out being present in mid-January at the Australian Open, but he has regained the conviction that he will return to the circuit. “I have nothing to hide, especially at this point in my life. When I can communicate the date of my return I will do so, now I am not in a position to do so. I will be the one who says it, not anyone for me. Now, I can say that until now I did not know if I would play tennis again and now I sincerely believe that I will return, that is the new thing I can say, I am convinced of it." The Balearic tennis player stated this in Barcelona, at the presentation of the Teknon Tennis Clinic, led by his good friend Dr. Ángel Ruiz Cotorro, and before a whirlwind of microphones and cameras.
Previously, he had shared the event with other illustrious figures of Spanish tennis such as Manolo Orantes, Conchita Martínez, Sergi Bruguera and Àlex Corretja. The man from Manacor did not dare to go further because he said it was the day of Dr. Ángel Ruiz Cotorro, his doctor for more than two decades, and not his, but he did leave clues that a new horizon is opening up for him. . A much clearer outlook than last spring.
“From how things were going a few months ago to how they are going now in recent weeks, I have taken a big step forward and that means a lot to me. The feelings are positive and I think the evolution of my injury is good. If it can be said that I am closer to returning? Yes, I'm closer. That's what I feel".
Nadal has not played since January 18, when he was injured against Mackenzie Mcdonald in the second round of the Australian Open. He suffered a psoas mishap. He attempted to return for the clay season but could not overcome the injury and announced a minimum break until the end of 2023. At the same time he revealed that 2024 would be his last year as a tennis player if he could pick up the racket again. In June he underwent surgery, precisely at the Teknon Clinic, and was predicted to have five months of recovery, which came to pass at the beginning of the month.
For two weeks he has intensified the load of his training and his body is responding well. “Do I still have pain? I will always have pain but I have been playing with pain my whole life, it is about whether that pain limits you or not.”
What the champion of 22 Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals does not want is to put more pressure on himself. “I'm not going to win more big titles than Novak Djokovic, it will be very difficult for me to reach the highest level but my daily fight is to play again and do it competitively. “I want to enjoy it again.”
Asked about a hypothetical participation in the Paris Olympic Games, the Mallorcan did not want to get ahead of events. He did not hide that fact, that “it would be a great illusion to be there.” Nadal has participated in the Games in Athens, Beijing and Rio de Janeiro.
