Rafael Nadal withdraws from Australian Open with hip injury
The tennis season begins in earnest next weekend at the Australian Open, but one of the sport's brightest stars won't be there to compete.
Rafael Nadal, the Spanish legend who has made the Australian Open final six times and won twice, announced Sunday evening that a hip injury will sideline him from the 2024 tournament.
Nadal has been absent from top-level tennis for almost a year after picking up a similar hip injury in Australia in 2023.
After undergoing surgery in June, the 22-time Grand Slam winner made his competitive comeback in Brisbane last week. He progressed to the quarterfinals before being beaten by Australia's Jordan Thompson.
2024 looks set to be an emotional season for Nadal. While he has not confirmed anything to the media, he's admitted that it may well be his last competitive season in singles tennis — and that this injury could have ruined his last chance to play in the Australian Open.
"The problem about saying 'that's going to be my last season' is that I can't predict what's going on 100% in the future," he said. "That's what I say 'probably.' It's obvious that it's a high percentage [2024] is going to be my last time playing here in Australia."
Nadal will return to Spain for additional treatments before making calls on his availability for future tournaments. He has described his injury as a "micro tear" that is "not in the same part" of his hip as his season-ending injury from 2023.
That means we should see more of Nadal this year--just not down under.
The Australian Open kicks off its opening rounds on Jan. 13.
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