Rafael Nadal to return to playing at Brisbane International in January after being out for a year

The 37-year-old Spaniard has not played on tour since last January, when he hurt his hip flexor during a loss in the second round of the Australian Open.

FILE PHOTO: Nadal expects 2024 to be his final season. | Photo Credit: AP

Rafael Nadal will return to playing at the Brisbane International in Australia in January, the 22-time Grand Slam champion said on Friday.

“After a year of not competing, it is time to come back,” Nadal said in a video posted on social media. “It will be in Brisbane in the first week of January. See you there.”

The 37-year-old Spaniard has not played on tour since last January, when he hurt his hip flexor during a loss in the second round of the Australian Open.

In May, a little more than a week before the start of the French Open, Nadal announced that he would miss the tournament he has won a record 14 times and wasn’t exactly sure when he might return to play.

Nadal had said then that he hoped to compete in 2024, which he expected to be his final season.

“You never know how things will turn out,” Nadal said at a news conference at the time, “but my intention is that next year will be my last year.”

He wound up having arthroscopic surgery in June in Barcelona.

Dating to the end of 2022, the 37-year-old Spanish left-hander has lost seven of his past nine matches, including going 1-3 this season.

Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam singles titles rank second to Novak Djokovic’s 24 for the most among men.