Rafael Nadal set to make his return to professional tennis at the Brisbane International

The Spanish star Rafael Nadal announced on Friday that he will make a comeback at the Brisbane International tournament to be held in Australia in January. 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal has not played on the tour since January. He hopes to add more titles to the 22 Grand Slams he has won so far.

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"After a year away from competition, it's time to come back," Nadal said in a video he posted on his social media accounts. "It will be in Brisbane, the first week of January. I'll see you there."

Rafael Nadal suffered an injury during the defeat in the second round of the Australian Open. Before the start of the French Open in May, Nadal announced that he would not play in the tournament, which he has won a record 14 times. Nadal then said that he hoped to play in 2024, which could be his final season.

Last month, Craig Tiley, chief executive of the Australian Open, had dropped the first hint of Nadal's comeback potentially taking flight Down Under, and last week reiterated his confidence that Nadal is likely to play in Melbourne.

The Spaniard is a two-time Australian Open winner. The first of those titles came in 2009 and the other in 2022 when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in a memorable final in which he was forced to fight back from a two-set deficit.

It was a serious hip issue that plagued Rafael Nadal that day, but before that an abdominal injury had led him to withdraw from a Wimbledon semifinal, and his chronic foot issue – from which he has suffered since 2005 – flared up and required him to take pain-numbing injections on his way to the 2022 French Open title.

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In light of that fact, Nadal's desire to be at each of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments would be clear, but given the hefty toll that multiple injuries have taken on his body, for him to be at a competitive level might be a stretch, especially as early as January.