Former world No.1 Rafael Nadal will return to action on the ATP Tour at the Melbourne Open during the first week of January in what will be his first tournament in almost four months.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has been absent from the Tour in recent weeks due to a foot injury which he underwent treatment on earlier this year in his native Spain. Nadal suffers from Muller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative disease that causes a deformity of one of the bones in the central part of the foot. He has avoided having surgery on his foot in recent times to address the problem.
Nadal last played a competitive match at the Washington Open which took place during the first week of August. He was knocked out in the third round by South Africa’s Lloyd Harris. Ahead of Australia, next week he will play in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in the United Arab Emirates. An exhibition event which will also feature Andrey Rublev, Dominic Thiem and Andy Murray.
The 35-year-old is currently the only top 20 player who has entered to play in Melbourne which takes place during the same time at the ATP Cup. Reilly Opelka is the next highest ranked entrant followed by Grigor Dimitrov. David Goffin and Kei Nishikori are also set to return to action at the event following injury setbacks. Goffin last played at the US Open due to a knee problem. Meanwhile, Nishikori ended his 2021 season early due to back issues.
In the women’s draw there will be a star-studded field set to feature 20 out of the world’s top 50 players. Russia’s Anastasia Pavlychenkova is the highest entrant but all eyes will be on Naomi Osaka who is bidding to defend her title at the Australian Open next month. Osaka last played at the Open after opting to take a break from the sport due to personal reasons.
British rising star Emma Raducanu is also on the entry list for Melbourne in what will be her first-ever WTA event in Australia. The 19-year-old has rocketed up the rankings by more than 300 places this year following her rapid rise, which include winning her first Grand Slam title in New York. Simona Halep, Elise Mertens, Jessica Pegula and Daria Kasatkina are also set to play.
Both the men’s and women’s Melbourne tournaments will take place from 3 to 9 January.
Barty heads world-class field
World No.1 Ash Barty is set to be in a tough first tournament in the new year with nine out of the world’s top 10 players taking part in the Adelaide International which also takes place during the first week of January. Earlier this week the 25-year-old was crowned WTA Player of the Year for the second time in her career. This season she achieved a win-loss record of 42-8 in singles and won a tour-leading five titles.
“I’ve been working hard on and off court, doing everything I possibly can to get ready for January,” Barty recently told tennis.com.au.
“The first few weeks of the preseason are always tough physically.”
Former world No.1 players Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova and Victoria Azarenka are also set to play in the tournament which is classed as a WTA 500 event. Other notable names include Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari, Barbora Krejcikova and Iga Swiatek.
As for the men’s draw in Adelaide, the field is set to feature only three players ranked in the world’s top 30. Gael Monfils is set to be the top seed ahead of Karen Khachanov and Marin Cilic. The tournament is an ATP 250 event and will start on January 2nd.
Entry lists
WTA MELBOURNE
ATP MELBOURNE
WTA ADELAIDE
ATP ADELAIDE
