Five big names Rafael Nadal could face in his comeback tournament in Brisbane

Rafael Nadal is making a long-awaited comeback to the game in Brisbane and he could be paired with some high-profile opponents in his opening match. 

Nadal has been handed a wild card in the ATP 250 tournament, as he prepares to play his first competitive match since last year’s Australian Open.

“There are many chances that it will be my last year in tennis, without any doubt,” said Nadal of his comeback.

“There are chances that it may only be half a year. There are possibilities that it may be a full year. There are possibilities that we may not be able to reach all that. These are things that right now I do not have the capacity to be able to answer.

“I am only in conditions to say that I return to compete. There are many possibilities that it is my last year and I am going to enjoy the tournaments in that way.

“I still believe what I said in the last press conference, that I do not deserve to end my sports career in a press room. I would like to finish in a different way, and I have fought and kept the illusion for that to happen, with doubts, with bad moments, very bad or better moments.”

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been preparing for his return with increasingly intense training sessions at his Academy in Mallorca and here are some of the names he could face in his first match back on the ATP Tour.

Holger Rune

World ranking: No 8

Nadal has yet to face Rune in a competitive match and he will be keen to avoid the top seen in Brisbane in his opening couple of rounds.

Rune had a challenging second half to the 2023 season, but he is aiming for the stars in the New Year with tennis legend Boris Becker and Roger Federer’s former coach Severin Luthi now part of his coaching team.

Grigor Dimitrov

World ranking: 14

Nadal has an impressive 14-1 winning record against this Bulgarian star, but that may not count for too much if they meet early in Nadal’s comeback attempt.

Dimitrov pieced together a fine 2023 season and will head into the new campaign with big hopes of breaking into the top ten and making progress at the Australian Open.

Ben Shelton 

World ranking: 17

Shelton will be one of the players to watch in 2024 after his big-serving breakthrough over the last 12 months.

His extended run at the Australian Open set the ball rolling on his youthful career and Nadal would be greeted by a barrage of serving if he meets Shelton in Brisbane.

Sebastian Korda

World ranking: 24

This American is a real threat to anyone in the game when he is at his best, but injuries undermined his ambitions in 2023.

With a big serve and a fine all-court game, Nadal will be tested if he plays against Korda, even though he has a 2-0 winning record in previous meetings against his young rival.

Andy Murray

World ranking: 42

Nadal and Murray have had an intense rivalry over the course of their careers, with the Spaniard holidng 17-7 winning record against the Brit.

Three-time Grand Slam king Murray has plenty of questions to answer after his limp end to the 2023 season and a high-profile meeting with Nadal would be a box office event in Brisbane. Murray was a champion in this tournament in 2012 and 2013.