Rafael Nadal on playing the Australian Open? “I can’t confirm information I don’t know”

Did Craig Tiley take his wishes as reality? By announcing Rafael Nadal‘s return to the Australian Open next January, the Tournament Director perhaps wanted to see the glass half full too quickly. And it was the Spanish champion himself who came to confirm this during an interview given on the sidelines of a sponsorship event in Madrid on Thursday.

The former world No 1 admitted that he was not able to confirm that he will have recovered in time for the Australian Open, quite simply because he does not know himself yet. 

“My first realistic option to return to competition could be in January in Australia,” he confided, as translated by Eurosport . “But right now, I really can’t confirm information that I don’t know. Nothing has changed in the last few weeks, except the fact that I’m training a little more than before. I take it as a success, for me and for my mental health.”

If the 37-year-old Spaniard is able to return to the circuit next January, it will be a year after his last appearance, when he got injured during the 2022 edition of the Australian Open. An eternity for such a champion.

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The bad news from Nadal’s comments is that he is still not completely free of his injury. “I don’t train without pain. It hurts less than before, but I still hurt. On the other hand, this pain allows me to do many more things. The situation would be different if I had no more pain at all and then I could have given you a return date because I would have had time to prepare for that.”

Does he feel under pressure to return? “Everything has always been about the pressure I put on myself: and my demands are far beyond yours. The pressure I put on myself has always been great and at this point in my career I’m really doing my best. My limitations are obvious today, but when they disappear – soon, I hope, we will be discussing a completely different kind of pressure.” 

It’s certain that Nadal wants to come back but at the moment he can’t and doesn’t know when he will be able to. 

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