Rafael Nadal arrives in Australia to prep for 2024 season

Rafael Nadal returned to the tennis court in Australia on Thursday, preparing for his first tournament since last year's Australian Open.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner from Spain trained in Brisbane on Thursday after an absence from the game of almost a year.

Nadal, 37, has not played a match since suffering an early exit in the second round of this year's Australian Open in January due to a hip injury. He will play at the Brisbane International for the first time since 2017 to warm up for the opening Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne, where he was champion in 2009 and 2022.

"I always expect him to play at his best, to be honest," said Novak Djokovic, who surpassed his long-time rival to lead the men's record of Grand Slam titles of 24 after winning three in 2023.

"Many times they've signed him out, they've done that with me as well. But we've proved them wrong. He's not a kind of a player who will come back to the tour just to play, let's say, on a medium level, play a few matches.

"He wants to win titles, he wants to be the best, that's why he is who he is: a legend of our sport. I'm sure his training and preparation is done with an intention to win a Grand Slam," he told the press before an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in Riyadh earlier this week.

"I hear from other players that practiced with Rafa in these past weeks and they said he's going to return to his good level. His top level," said Nadal's fellow countryman Alcaraz, who is currently ranked second in the world.

The Brisbane tournament runs from December 29 to January 7. Nadal was given a wild card after slumped to world No.672 and accordingly applied for protected ranking. He will be unseeded for the first time since 2005. The Australian Open is set to take place from January 14 to 28.