Tiley confirms that Nadal will play 2024 Australian Open; agent says no schedule for comeback yet – updated with Nadal comments
The Spaniard has not played since January this year when he lost in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open
Rafael Nadal at the 2023 Australian Open
Image Credit: Zuma / Panoramic
22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will play at the 2024 Australian Open, according to Tournament Director Craig Tiley. However, his agent refused to confirm the same, stating that there was no confirmed date for the Spaniard’s comeback.
And Nadal later added on social media: “I appreciate the vote of confidence from the Australian Open… I am practising every day and working hard to come back asap.”
Tiley revealed that he made been in touch with the Spaniard and confirmed to the media in Australian on Wednesday that Nadal will be in Melbourne to try and win a third Australian Open title.
Nadal, aged 37, has not played on the tour since January when he was beaten in the second round of this year’s Australian Open by American Mackenzie McDonald.
“The return of some of the greats, and those champions who have been off for a couple of years,” Tiley said in response to a question about another former champion, Naomi Osaka. “We can reveal exclusively here that Rafa will be back. He’s been off for most of the year, and in talking to him over the last few days he confirmed he will be back, which we’re really excited about. That’s awesome.”
“He’s not going to come into the event unless he thinks he can win it,” Tiley said of Nadal. “He’s not going to just show up to play, he’s going to show up to win. I called him. We stay in touch. You always get your hopes up because you want people like Rafa to be here. He particularly is someone who loves Australia. So far the early signs have been really good.”
“No date confirmed, scheduled or programmed yet for his comeback” – Nadal’s agent
However, Nadal’s representative Benito Perez-Barbadillo told Reuters via text from Shanghai that there was nothing to announce yet on the Spaniard’s upcoming schedule.
“I can confirm to you that Rafa is practising, as everyone saw on his last post on Instagram,” Perez-Barbadillo said. “But there is no date confirmed, scheduled or programmed yet for his comeback.”
In the past years, Tiley has confirmed to the media that several top players would be playing in the upcoming Australian Open editions only to see them pull out later (notably for Serena Williams in 2017 and 2018).
Tiley added that he also expects hometown favourite Nick Kyrgios, who has played only match all year, to be back in Melbourne. “And we know Nick’s (Kyrgios) been in training so we expect to see him back.”
In an interview earlier this year, Nadal had suggested that 2024 could be his final year on the tour though he did not rule out extending his career if things went well.
The 2024 Australian Open is also expected to see the return of former winners – Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber – on the women’s side as they prepare a comeback from maternity leave.
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