Spanish former tennis player Conchita Martinez has said that Rafael Nadal should not be ruled out by colleagues and fans as he prepares to return for what could possibly be his final year on the ATP Tour.

Nadal is considered to be among the greatest tennis players of all time - The Spaniard has 22 Grand Slam titles to his name, 14 of which came from the French Open alone, along with 92 ATP singles titles and 209 weeks in total as World No. 1.

However, the 37-year-old has been absent from the sport for most of this year. Nadal competed at the Australian Open in January but was defeated in the second round by Mackenzie McDonald. He then withdrew from several tournaments due to injury before announcing that he would be undergoing surgery and thus would miss the rest of the 2023 season.

In a recent interview with Movistar+, Nadal played down his hopes for success upon his return, which he is hoping to begin at the 2024 Australian Open.

"My dream is to play again, to be competitive again, not to win at Roland-Garros or in Australia. At this time in my life, I am very far away [from challenging for major titles]. I am not saying it is impossible because things in sport change very quickly," he said.

However, Martinez has stressed that no-one should rule out Nadal as a contender for success in the 2024 season.

"Well, he said it was going to be a farewell year in the tournaments he wants, and that’s the way it has to be. Whenever Rafa has had injuries he has always got up and come back stronger, he has won important tournaments. I think that’s going to be his goal. But with injuries we can’t fight, I hope he recovers," she said while speaking to Clay.

"He is in the best hands, especially with Doctor [Angel Ruiz] Cotrorro. I have no doubt that he is doing the right things, they are not going to take any risks. If he is fit, he will have a very competitive year. If he doesn’t feel that way, we’ll see, then he will focus on the tournaments that really matter to him, which will be Roland Garros and some previous ones.

"Hopefully he will come back stronger. We should never rule him out, he always surprises us," she continued.