Is number 23 on the horizon? The Rafael Nadal comeback story begins

Former coach of Serena Williams, Patrick Mouratoglou, commented on the physical concerns surrounding Rafael Nadal's comeback. The French coach asserted that as long as the 22-times Grand Slam champion can maintain good physical condition, he will be a formidable opponent for any player.

The Spanish tennis icon is set to make his comeback on December 31 at the ATP 250 Brisbane International, where he shares the main draw with players like Holger Rune (world No. 8), Grigor Dimitrov (No. 14), Ben Shelton (No. 17), and Ugo Humbert (No. 20). This tournament will serve as his only preparation for the 2024 Australian Open, an event he has won in 2009 and 2022.

At 37 years old, Nadal returns after an absence of almost a year since his last match in the second round of the Aussie Open (a loss to Mackenzie McDonald). Despite doubts about his physical condition, Mouratoglou has no doubt that Nadal will remain a dangerous and competitive player.

"The fact that he was out for so long makes people feel that probably his body is not great, considering his age and the fact that again he had to stop for so long. But if he feels good physically, he will always be dangerous," he said.

"It's going to be interesting because now the young guys have progressed a lot while he was out of the courts. So I'm really looking forward to seeing those young guys play against him and see how we can do against them with such a long absence also," former Simona Halep coach added.

The French coach also expressed his opinion that, for Nadal, his top priority will likely be reaching his peak form for the French Open, a tournament he has won 14 times—the most Grand Slam victories any player has achieved at a single event in tennis history: "The thing that is difficult with him is that we don't know how he feels in his body, only he knows. And this will play a big part in what he will be able to achieve in 2024," he said.

"The fact that he wants to play the Australian Open, there are two explanations. The first one is maybe he thinks it's his last year, and he wants to play," Mouratoglou said. "The second can be if he feels good, because if he wouldn't feel that good, he would probably go skip it and go straight to clay, probably in South America and get ready for Roland-Garros, which will be for sure the most important tournament of his season, because that's the Grand Slam he has the best chance to win," he concluded.