Australian Open director Craig Tiley announced this Wednesday the return of Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, two-time champion of the tournament, to the courts of Melbourne for the 2024 season.
“We can announce that Rafa will return. He was away. [dos courts] most of the year and, having communicated with him in recent days, confirmed that he will return [ao Open da Austrália], which makes us very happy. It’s unbelievable,” Tiley told Australia’s Channel 9 Today programme.
Nadal, who has already said that next season could be his last in tennis, “will want to win,” just as he did in 2009 and 2022, the businessman emphasized.
The 37-year-old Spanish tennis player “won’t come to a tournament unless he thinks he can win it. He won’t just come to play, he’ll come to win,” Tiley said of the 22nd-ranked player. Two-time Grand Slam winner.
The Australian added that, in addition to the Spaniard, other great figures of world tennis such as Japan’s Naomi Osaka and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios are expected to return.
The next Australian Open starts on Sunday, January 14 and will last 15 days, one more than previous editions, to ease the playing load and overwhelming schedule for players.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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