Nadal back for one last hurrah

Greater than twenty years after bursting on the scene, the sun is setting on Rafael Nadal’s storied profession with the Spanish gladiator hoping his creaking body can delay long enough to see out the season.

The 37-year-old returns to the courts in Brisbane this week, almost a 12 months since he last played professionally before an injury curse that has long plagued him returned with a vengeance.

It has been a recurring theme of a record-breaking profession which has brought 22 Grand Slam titles and global respect, a painful by-product of his all-action, brutal-hitting style that has led to struggles with serious knee, wrist and foot problems.

His most up-to-date setback, on the 2023 Australian Open, resulted in two rounds of hip surgery and fears that he would never grace the courts again.

But Nadal didn’t want it to finish like that, and he has battled back for what he admits is probably going his last season, to say goodbye to the fans, “enjoy myself again”, but in addition be competitive.

“I don’t know at what level (I can play at), I don’t know what to anticipate, I do not know, but I don’t care immediately,” Nadal said this month, waiting for 2024.

“I’m just completely happy to be back and with great excitement to take some time that’s mandatory to rejoice, and I imagine that I shall be competitive.”

His coach Carlos Moya gave an insight into how hard it had been to get up to now, admitting there have been times when he thought Nadal’s profession was over.

“While you undergo a process like this operation … at the top of the day, going under the knife is basically a final resort to try to make a comeback and retire on court,” Moya told the ATP Tour website last week.

“Aware of those risks, he gave it a go since it was the one option for him if he wanted to return back.

“It has not been a bed of roses, removed from it. It’s been a winding, tortuous road, with many curves.”

The indisputable fact that Nadal continues to be driven to hit balls is indicative of a player who, while quiet and modest off court, has been relentless in his pursuit of tennis glory.

 Natural competitor

Rafael Nadal of Spain arrives for a training session ahead of the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

That drive, and all of the on-court idiosyncrasies he is legendary for, has garnered 92 titles since turning skilled in 2001, including 22 Slams.

He dominated the French Open, where he won 14 of his majors, his first arriving just days after his nineteenth birthday in 2005, his last in 2022 making him the event’s oldest champion.

On the famous crushed brick of Roland Garros, he has lost just thrice in 115 matches.

He’s a four-time champion on the US Open, won Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010, and is a two-time winner on the Australian Open — with 13 years spanning his first triumph at Melbourne Park in 2009 and his second in 2022.

Whether Nadal — whose athleticism, power, mental strength and good forehand made him certainly one of the best ever — makes it through 2024 will rely upon how he manages himself.

But Moya admitted it was hard to rein in his natural competitiveness.

“As much as we attempt to get that into his head and make him see it, when he steps on a tennis court, he’s a competitive animal,” he said.

“A big a part of my work and that of the team has been to stop him. Stop him by way of the load of coaching, stop him by way of hours of labor, intensity.”

In preparation for the Brisbane International and the Australian Open, Nadal frolicked at his academy in Kuwait searching for temperatures and conditions much like those he’ll encounter in Australia.

He trained with fast-rising French teen Arthur Fils and Moya said it went “significantly better than he could have hoped”.

“Rafa went there considering that he wouldn’t be competitive, that he wouldn’t be adequate, and he’s left convinced that it may be possible.”