Tilly recently announced that Nadal has set a return date after missing most of the season. The 37-year-old has not played in any competition since injuring his left psoas muscle after falling in the second round of the Australian Open. He later underwent arthroscopic surgery in June.
Earlier this week, at the launch of the 2024 Australian Open, tournament director told Today: “We can exclusively reveal here that Rafa will be back. He has been off for most of the year and has spent the past few years When we spoke to him today, he confirmed that he would be back and we were very excited about it. “Awesome. “
But Nadal’s team later dismissed suggestions that his comeback was a foregone conclusion, speaking out himself on X (formerly Twitter). “I’m grateful to the Australian Open for the vote of confidence in me… I’m practicing every day and trying to get back as soon as possible,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion wrote.
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This isn’t the first time Tiley has prematurely announced the return of one of the sport’s great champions, only to have it backfire. In late 2017, he claimed that Serena Williams would “most likely” return to defend her title at the 2018 event. This comes after the American took some time off to give birth to her first daughter.
“She’s got her visa, she’s in, she’s practicing, she might just need a little more space for a bigger entourage. There’s no doubt she’ll be ready before our eyes,” he said at the time. But Williams later withdrew, citing lack of preparation, and returned to the Indian Wells Tour.
The same thing happened to Swiss star Roger Federer after he ended his 2020 season in February and underwent surgery on both knees. The Tennis Australia chief executive claimed Federer would return to Melbourne in early 2021, but he did not return until the Doha Open in March that year, playing just five matches before the end of the season before retiring a year later.
“Every player, including Roger Federer, has committed. We have been in contact with him and his team and three days have passed and he has been hit for the first time in Dubai. He is doing pre-season as normal. training,” Tiley announced in late 2020. Just a few weeks later, Federer, Drew and the tournament director were forced to issue a new statement.
“Ultimately Roger didn’t have time to prepare for the rigors of a Grand Slam and he is very disappointed not to be able to come to Melbourne in 2021,” Tilly said. This means the Australian Open chairman’s statement about Nadal is no guarantee The Spaniard will be ready in time for the January competition.
Given that Tilly’s previous premature claims have been vindicated, Nadal hopes he doesn’t end up withdrawing from the tournament like Williams and Federer because he hasn’t recovered yet. The 37-year-old has been posting videos from the training ground on Instagram as he continues to increase the intensity of his training in a bid to return next year.