Rafael Nadal is in Kuwait training at his tennis academy in preparation for his return to the sport after nearly a year away.
With a wildcard into the Brisbane International, the former World No 1 will begin 2024 in Queensland. He will travel to Melbourne for the Australian Open after his time at the ATP 250 event.
It was in Melbourne where he succumbed to the hip pain that prevented him from playing the remainder of the 2023 season.
In Kuwait, the Spaniard has been accompanied by his family as he stops in at his Middle Eastern academy base. His newborn baby recently witnessed the 22-time Grand Slam winner participate in a rigorous training session.
Throughout the session, Nadal tried his best to keep his firstborn engaged, making silly expressions at him while smiling. The sweet event was caught on-site at the Kuwait facility by a fan, who subsequently shared it on social media.
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In his career, Nadal has competed in 30 Grand Slam finals; this places him third behind only 36 final appearances by Novak Djokovic and 31 final appearances by Roger Federer.
Nadal has appeared in at least five finals at each major, second to Djokovic’s seven, and is still the only man to win multiple majors in three decades. He won at least one Grand Slam for ten consecutive years between 2005 and 2014 and 15 years overall, both records in men’s tennis.
The Spaniard won all four majors in singles (Career Grand Slam) and the Olympic singles gold medal (Career Golden Slam) before the age of 25, becoming the youngest player in the Open Era to accomplish both achievements.
He became the fourth man in history (after Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, and Djokovic) to win all four Majors at least twice in his career after winning the 2022 Australian Open. Nadal is the first man in history to accomplish the Career Grand Slam while also winning Olympic gold medals in singles and doubles.
Nadal, dubbed the “King of Clay,” won the French Open nine times in his first ten attempts. He has won the tournament 14 times in total, with a match record of 112-3 (97.4% victory rate), which many observers consider to be one of the greatest performances in tennis and global sport.
Nadal’s domination of the surface is further demonstrated by his one-of-a-kind achievement of winning the three clay-court Masters 1000 events (Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome) as well as the French Open in the same season (2010), making him the only player to complete the Clay Slam.
