As he prepared for what could very well be his final professional season this year, Rafael Nadal ensured that he took his time and he was ready for whatever was left. He wrote off the entire 2023 season after his serious hip injury at the Australian Open, only returning in time for the new year.
And yet, within a couple of matches into this season, the 22-time grand slam champion’s body betrayed him again. In the first week of January, Nadal limped out of the Brisbane tournament with another hip injury, missed the Australian Open and has not competed for two months.
This week, Nadal returns again at Indian Wells, the first joint ATP/WTA 1000 event of the year, as he looks to rebuild his momentum and form with his favoured clay court season approaching. The question surrounding him has not changed: can he remain fit enough to regularly compete at the highest level again?
There have already been so many injuries throughout Nadal’s career and he has spoken about recovering mentally from them, so much time spent in rehab and the unfortunate effect they have had on his daily life. At 37 he remains as passionate and motivated about his career and the work it demands of him, but there are only so many more setbacks he can take.
The positive news for Nadal is there are fewer doubts about his level. Even after just three matches in January, he clearly looked good. His forehand was still firing brilliantly, he moved well enough and he continues to offset his waning athleticism by relying more heavily on his vast array of shots. In his tight three-set quarter-final loss to Jordan Thompson in Brisbane, he just looked mentally and physically rusty after such a long layoff.
A significant first-round match awaits Nadal in Indian Wells as he faces the former world No 3 Milos Raonic, a match-up that played out in a Masters 1000 final 11 years ago in Toronto. Nadal leads the head-to-head 8-2 and the winner will face Holger Rune, the No 7 seed, in round two. Despite their starkly contrasting game-styles, Nadal and Raonic have much in common right now, with Raonic taking two years out between 2021 and 2023 after a series of dispiriting injuries.
Although he has compiled just a 7-6 record upon his return, Raonic still possesses one of the greatest serves of all time and remains competitive; he took a set off the in-form Alex de Minaur at the Australian Open and then provided some of Jannik Sinner’s toughest opposition in his Rotterdam title run last month. But he was also forced to retire from both of those matches due to injury. Raonic’s body seems incompatible with the rigours of tennis at the moment and his career seems to be winding down. He will be determined to prolong it as he faces Nadal on Thursday night.
Elsewhere, Andy Murray returns to competition after his own admission last week that his days are numbered and he is unlikely to compete after this summer. Murray will face a qualifier in the first round, with a second-round match against Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed, looming for the winner. Rublev, who was defaulted from his semi-final match in Dubai last week after screaming in the face of a line umpire, has since had his points and prize money reinstated. Rublev courted more controversy for his statement, which did not include an apology to the line umpire, whose call was actually correct.
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Emma Raducanu will also return to action against a qualifier, with a second-round match against Dayana Yastremska, the Australian Open semi-finalist, awaiting the winner. After her brilliant run to the San Diego title, Katie Boulter will face Camila Giorgi in round one with Iga Swiatek, the top seed, a potential third-round opponent. Jack Draper begins against Christopher O’Connell, with the winner tackling Alexander Zverev. Meanwhile, Dan Evans will play Roman Safiullin in round one.
Venus Williams, now 43, will also be competing in her first tournament of the season and she faces a qualifier in the opening round. All seeded players, including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner, Cameron Norrie, Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff have a first-round bye and will compete for the first time on Friday or Saturday.