After nearly 11 months off due to injury, the Spanish tennis player announced that he will officially return and attend the ATP 250 Brisbane International taking place in Australia from December 31. This is considered a warm-up tournament for the Australian Grand Slam.
Notably, Nadal is still able to participate in this tournament despite being ranked 663 ATP – a position where he cannot participate in qualifying rounds of ATP Tour tournaments.
According to Eurosport , Nadal has used the ranking protection law to participate in upcoming ATP Tour tournaments in 2024.
This is a tool to protect the rankings for tennis players who have to miss at least 6 months or more due to injury. It is applicable for a period of 9 months or the next 9 tournaments when that player returns to competition.
The average ranking will be given by the ATP based on the first 3 months, from the time the player was injured. Then, a virtual ranking will be created so players can participate in tournaments.
Based on the above information, Nadal will rank 9th in the world, meaning the Spanish star can use this ranking during the first 9 months of returning to the international arena.
However, Nadal cannot use this rule to be seeded at the Brisbane International or Australian Open, instead he will be ranked at the bottom of the list of participating players. Therefore, the possibility of Nadal meeting Novak Djokovic right in the first round of the Australian Open is entirely possible.
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In addition, Eurosport newspaper affirmed that it is obvious that Nadal has a spot to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics.
That said, major events organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) still have some exception rules for participating players, in addition to ranking requirements.
For Nadal, there are two things that help him ensure a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The first is returning after a long injury. Second, he has achieved countless impressive achievements at events such as the Olympics and Davis Cup over the years.
Typically, the men’s singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the men’s doubles gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics and the Davis Cup championship 5 times (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2019).
Sharing with Marca newspaper after announcing his return to competition, Nadal happily said: “Finally, I have the opportunity to compete again. I hope to be able to feel the tension, excitement, and sadness again. fear, doubts on the field. I had to accept that the first time was very difficult and had to forgive myself if things didn’t go smoothly.”
Recurring injury, Rafael Nadal was eliminated at the Australian Open
