In what may be one of the final tournaments of the 22-time Grand Slam winner’s career, Rafael Nadal will represent Team Europe at the Laver Cup in Berlin this September, the tournament’s organizers said on Monday.
After battling a hip injury that kept him out of the game for almost all of 2023 and the beginning of this season, Rafael Nadal, who turns 38 in June, has stated he believes this will be his last year on tour.
At the 2022 Laver Cup, the Spaniard and Roger Federer played doubles as the Swiss star bid the sport a heartfelt goodbye during the team match.
Nadal will join compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev as Europe attempt to win back the Laver Cup under coach Bjorn Borg from September 20-22.
“I am very happy to be playing Laver Cup in Berlin for Team Europe,” Nadal said in a statement.
“I have some really special memories from my Laver Cup experiences, including all the emotions from London two years ago playing alongside Roger for the last time.
“At this stage in my career I really want to go out there and make the most of every opportunity I am given.”
Nadal returned for a short while in Brisbane at the beginning of January, but he missed the Australian Open and was sidelined for an additional three months when a hip issue flared up again.
Although he has won the competition twelve times, he lost in the second round of the Barcelona Open last week when he made his comeback to the game.
Two years ago, the former world number one, whose ranking has dropped to 512, won his last of a record 14 French Open titles. Since then, he has not won a championship.
John McEnroe will once again serve as Team World’s coach at the Laver Cup. Alex de Minaur, an Australian, will be joined in the lineup by Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, two Americans.
