"It's been tough period for me" says Rafael Nadal ahead of tennis return in Abu Dhabi

The last time Nadal played on a tennis court competitively was back in August when he participated at the Citi Open in Washington. Since then Nadal has been working his way back to fitness and health after undergoing surgery to repair damage in his ankle. The injury bothered Nadal throughout 2021 but the Spaniard is now ready to leave that behind him and focus on the future.

Speeaking ahead of his return at the Abu Dhabi exhibition event he said:

“Let’s see. I need to try it in the competition. Of course, I am feeling better, if not I will not be here. I know the comeback will be not easy. I don’t have big expectations now. I am super happy to be back. It’s not about the pain. I had pain a lot of times during my career, almost all the time. It’s more about having the chance to have a pain that I can manage to compete well.”

Nadal admitted that it was very hard for him and just being here is great news for him:

"The only expectation is to be here, to play in front of a great crowd again, to feel myself competing again against great players, and then enjoy. It has been a very tough period of time for me, honestly, so just to be here is great news for me."

Nadal also understand that it's going to be tough but he is ready for it. He simply hopes to be ready:

“It’s going to be super difficult for me. If things are going well, I’m only going to play one tournament before Australia. The number of hours on court at the competitive level before such a tough and demanding tournament like Australia will be not much but the main thing is still always the same – be healthy."