Nadal making ‘big’ steps in recovery, targets return in 2024\u060c<\/p>\n
Rafael Nadal says he is making \u201cgood progress\u201d as he returns from a long injury absence and hopes for a return to tennis in 2024.<\/p>\n
Having not played since the Australian Open in January, the 22-time Grand Slam champion returned to training a few weeks ago following iliopsoas surgery in June.<\/p>\n
Nadal is now confident in his return, but that wasn’t always the case.<\/p>\n
“I’m at a good stage in my life. Until now, I didn’t know if I would ever play tennis again, and now I sincerely believe that I will,” Nadal said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m not ready to say when yet, but I can train longer and longer and the progress is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Spaniard is unsure what his return will look like, but said his future will soon become clearer.<\/p>\n
“We know the pain will never go away, but I took a step forward. It’s a lot for me,” Nadal said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking about tennis is a completely different matter, as is the level at which I will be able to play. But the steps towards trying to play again have been big and positive, and that is what we have been fighting for for several months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am confident that I will be able to say something more specific in the coming weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although a return to tennis is the immediate goal, Nadal is tempering expectations for what will happen when he returns to the court.<\/p>\n