Rafael Nadal might be gone but he is certainly not out

Rafael Nadal suffered a horrible hip injury in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open and missed the rest of the year. He had surgery, underwent rehab, and battled to get back to playing at the beginning of 2024. But in his first tournament of the year, the Brisbane International, Nadal aggravated a muscle in the same hip he injured last year which forced him to withdraw from the 2024 Australian Open.

But do not fret, tennis and Nadal fans. According to one report (or at least some speculation from Eurosport analyst Laura Robson, Nadal will return as soon as February. Robson says that Nadal is expected to play at the Qatar Open in Doha. That tournament will be played from February 20 through 26 on the men's side.

The problem for Nadal might partly be that the tournament is played on a hard court. That is not his best surface so how many matches he can win and, therefore, rebuild his form playing high-level matches, remains a question. If he shows up at the Qatar Open and plays a match or two, that seems like kind of a waste.

Rafael Nadal might be ready to return in February

Plus, Nadal might be better waiting to return until the clay court season gets fully underway in April. Clay should be a bit easier on Nadal's hip. As that usually is Nadal's best surface, he likely has a chance to make deeper runs in tournaments. By getting practice through real matches beginning in April, Nadal will probably be better prepared for the French Open in late May.

This will most likely be Nadal's last year playing. The same might be said for Andy Murray, Venus Williams, and others. We, as tennis fans, want to see our favorite tennis players fade out in glory than a slow dirge to forced retirement by a bad injury.

Let's hope that if Nadal does come back for the Qatar Open he does well. But why the rush to return after re-injuring his hip in January? Better to see Nadal win the French Open than be bounced out of some lesser tournament in February or March and never see him play again.

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