Rafael Nadal, a 22-time major winner, isn’t ready to say goodbye to this tour and will instead leave the door open for another Australian season of tennis.
With a hip ailment that kept him out for over a year, the 37-year-old makes his comeback at the Brisbane International.
After the Austrian barely made it through qualification to the main draw, he will likely face off against former US Open winner Dominic Thiem on Tuesday night at the heavyweight division.
What Rafa had missed most, he claimed, was the feeling of being physically prepared to compete.
He’s had that feeling returned after a protracted recovery procedure that ultimately resulted in surgery in early June.