Picture Credit: X

Picture Credit: X

22- time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal returned to competitive tennis last year at the Brisbane International, just ahead of the Australian Open 2024. But his return to professional tennis was cut short after he incurred a “micro tear” on his hip muscle, forcing him to withdraw from the Australian Open 2024.

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But just days after his injury which ruled him out of the AO2024, the Spaniard is all set to make his return at the ATP 250 event in Doha in February 2024. The 37-year-old has been named in the entry list of the 2024 Qatar Open, which is scheduled to kickstart from February 19 and run until February 24 in Doha.   

Apart from Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Andy Murray are the other big names to headline the Qatar Open 2024 in Doha.

Rafael Nadal’s return cut short ahead of Australian Open 2024

The 37-year-old, made an impressive return after 12 months, winning back-to-back matches in Brisbane. However, with a fresh injury, his return was cut short.

“Hi all, during my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried. Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have a micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news,” he captioned the post on X (formerly Twitter) just a week prior to the AO2024 start.

“I have worked very hard during the year for this comeback and as I always mentioned my goal is to be at my best level in 3 months. Within the sad news for me for not being able to play in front of the amazing Melbourne crowds, this is not very bad news and we all remain positive with the evolution for the season,” he further added.