Covid couldn’t keep Rafael Nadal down for long.
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Nadal shared this photo of his return to Melbourne Park shortly after his arrival in Australia. Melbourne Park is hosting both the ATP 250-level tournament and the Australian Open in January.
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“Don’t tell anyone…here I am,” Nadal captioned the image of him standing on the blue hard court.
The sixth-ranked Nadal starts the New Year with a historic goal: Capture his men’s record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, which starts on January 17th in Melbourne Park.
The 35-year-old Spaniard tested positive for Coronavirus last month after returning from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. Nadal was one of several players—including Andrey Rublev, Denis Shapovalov, Belinda Bencic, Emma Raducanu and Ons Jabeur—testing positive for the virus after traveling to the UAE. Nadal’s coaches, Carlos Moya and Marc Lopez, also tested positive.
Nadal lost his Abu Dhabi return to Andy Murray, 6-3, 7-5, then bowed to Shapovalov in the consolation match.
Photo credit: Mubadala World Tennis Championship