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Australian Open: Rafael Nadal casts doubt over participation in Melbourne

Rafael Nadal, 35, suffered two close defeats against Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event; "The idea is to go there and try my best there in Australia... Being 100 per cent honest, I can't guarantee it," says Spaniard

Rafael Nadal, preparing to return a backhand (John Walton/PA Wire/PA Images)
Image: Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open in 2009

Rafael Nadal says he cannot guarantee he will compete at the Australian Open after making his return to action in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion suffered two close defeats against Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event.

Nadal, 35, ended his 2021 season early in August due to a continuing left foot issue after competing at the Citi Open in Washington earlier that month.

"The idea is to go there and try my best there in Australia... Being 100 per cent honest, I can't guarantee it," Nadal said. "I need to speak with my team.

"It's more than six months since the last real official match. Things are difficult and I accept that... I was able to compete in both matches and even had my chances, so if we put that in perspective it's a very positive thing.

"I went through this process, unfortunately, a lot of times in my tennis career but I need to practice and I need to be healthy enough to go through this process. If that happens, I'm confident that I will be back."

The foot injury ruled Nadal out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, having been impeded by the problem at the French Open where the Spaniard lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

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However, the Spaniard said he would not have returned to tennis if he did not feel he was competitive enough to challenge for the biggest titles in the sport.

"I am not playing at all for money or just for fun, I am playing to keep achieving goals or at least to enjoy the process to try to achieve my goals," the world No 6 added.

"If then you don't achieve, it's fine, but the motivation and the passion is still there."

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