Rafael Nadal’s last hurrah at Indian Wells ahead of favoured clay season

aAs he prepared for what could be his final professional season this year, Rafael Nadal made sure he took his time and was ready for what was left. He wrote off the entire 2023 season after his serious hip injury at the Australian Open and only returned in time for the new year.

And yet, within a few matches of this season, the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s body betrayed him again. In the first week of January, Nadal limped out of the tournament in Brisbane with yet another hip injury, missed the Australian Open and has not competed for two months.

This week, Nadal returns to Indian Wells, the first joint ATP/WTA 1000 event of the year, as he looks to regain his momentum and form as his favorite clay-court season approaches. The question surrounding him has not changed: can he stay fit enough to compete regularly at the highest level again?

There have been so many injuries during Nadal’s career and he has spoken about his mental recovery from them, the amount of time he has spent in rehab and the unfortunate effect they have had on his daily life. At the age of 37, he is still as passionate and motivated about his career and the work it demands of him, but there are so many more setbacks he can endure.

The positive news for Nadal is that there are fewer doubts about his level. Even after just three games in January, he clearly looked good. His forehand still fired brilliantly, it moved well enough and he continues to compensate for his waning athleticism by relying more heavily on his vast range of shots. In his tight three-set quarter-final loss to Jordan Thompson in Brisbane, he looked mentally and physically rusty after such a long break.

Nadal faces an important first-round match in Indian Wells when he takes on former world number 3 Milos Raonic, a match that took place in Toronto 11 years ago in the Masters 1000 final. Nadal leads the head-to-head 8-2 and the winner will face Holger Rune, the No. 7 seed, in the second round. Despite their starkly contrasting playing styles, Nadal and Raonic have a lot in common at the moment, with Raonic taking a two-year break between 2021 and 2023 after a series of discouraging injuries.

Although he only compiled a 7-6 record upon his return, Raonic still possesses one of the best serves of all time and remains competitive; he defeated the in-form Alex de Minaur at the Australian Open and then provided some of Jannik Sinner’s toughest opposition in his title run in Rotterdam last month. But he also had to withdraw from both matches due to injury. Raonic’s body currently seems incompatible with the rigors of tennis and his career seems to be coming to an end. He will be determined to extend the extra time when he faces Nadal on Thursday evening.

Elsewhere, Andy Murray returns to competition after admitting last week that his days are numbered and he is unlikely to compete beyond this summer. Murray faces a first-round qualifier, with a second-round match against fifth seed Andrey Rublev looming for the winner. Rublev, who was knocked out in the semi-finals in Dubai last week after shouting in the face of a line umpire, has since had his points and prize money reinstated. Rublev sparked more controversy for his statement, which contained no apology to the line referee, whose decision was actually correct.

Emma Raducanu will also return to action against a qualifier, with a second round match against Australian Open semi-finalist Dayana Yastremska awaiting the winner. After her brilliant run to the title in San Diego, Katie Boulter will face Camila Giorgi in the first round with top seed Iga Swiatek a potential third round opponent. Jack Draper starts against Christopher O’Connell, with the winner tackling Alexander Zverev. Meanwhile, Dan Evans will play Roman Safiullin in the first round.

Venus Williams, now 43, will also compete in her first tournament of the season and faces an opening round qualifier. All seeded players, including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner, Cameron Norrie, Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, have a bye in the first round and will compete for the first time on Friday or Saturday.