Rafael Nadal is back on the tennis court, and is training with increased intensity after missing the 2024 Australian Open. Nadal withdrew from the Melbourne Major due to an injury sustained in his Brisbane International quarter-final match against Jordan Thompson. The tournament marked his return after being sidelined for the majority of the 2023 season.
On Wednesday (January 31), the 22-time Grand Slam winner posted a picture of himself on the tennis court at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy on his Instagram account.
“After a period of not putting anything on here, here we are. Back to the training sessions… with more intensity,” he wrote in the caption. The former World No.1 is set to compete at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open scheduled for February 19-25, 2024. Over the years, he has lifted the singles trophy once and secured the doubles title four times.
His only Qatar ExxonMobil Open singles title came when he defeated French tennis star Gael Monfils in the final in 2014. However, in the doubles category, he holds the record for titles, having won it four times.
The first came was when he partnered with his compatriot Albert Costa in 2005, and the second was in 2009 with another Spaniard, Marc Lopez.
Nadal and Marc Lopez partnered together again in 2011 and clinched the trophy. In 2015, he then partnered with Argentina’s Juan Monaco to win it for a record fourth time.
