BRISBANE – Amid the clamour of the start of his “farewell tour”, Rafael Nadal gave a reminder that he never definitively confirmed this would be his last season on the tennis circuit, even if he conceded that he had contemplated retirement.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion left the door ajar on Dec 31 to continuing after the 2024 season, but conceded there was “a high percentage” that he was on his last trip as a player to Australia.

Speaking ahead of his comeback from a 12-month injury absence at the season-opening Brisbane International, the 37-year-old Spaniard said he did not know for sure what the future held.

“The problem about saying that’s going to be my last season is I can’t predict what’s going on 100 per cent in the future,” he said.

“That’s why I say ‘probably’. It’s obvious it’s a high percentage that it’s going to be my last time playing here in Australia.

“But if I am here next year, don’t tell me, ‘You said it was going to be your last season’, because I didn’t say it.

“You never know what’s going on, you know? I can’t predict how I’m going to be in the next six months. I can’t predict if my body will allow me to enjoy tennis as much as I enjoyed the past 20 years.

“It’s not an easy decision, but I know inside myself that it is a high percentage that it’s going to be my last one.”

Nadal, who has been sidelined since injuring his hip at the 2023 Australian Open, begins his singles comeback on Jan 2 against former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, who beat James McCabe 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in a qualifying match that was held up for 40 minutes by a poisonous snake on court.

Nadal made a low-key return on Dec 31 when he partnered Marc Lopez and lost 6-4, 6-4 to Australia’s Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell in a doubles match at a packed Pat Rafter Arena.

The Spaniard said that 2023 had been tough and he contemplated quitting at one point during his recovery from hip surgery.

But he said he had never lost his love for the sport, which motivated him to keep going.

“Of course, I was asking myself that (about retirement), but at some point I decided to keep going. I had the determination to keep going.”

Asked whether he identified with Naomi Osaka, who on Dec 30 admitted she had fallen out of love with tennis during her break from the tour, Nadal said that was not the case for him.

“She got tired or lost a little bit of motivation for the game,” he said.

“That never happened to me. I had to be away because my body was not able to keep going.”

Nadal said the long absence had allowed his body to heal and he no longer woke up every morning in pain, but he had no expectations heading into the new season and would take it week-by-week.

“Competing is different than practising, but in terms of practising with the guys here, I am quite happy because I feel competitive against the players that I played in practice,” he said.

“Of course, I don’t have the expectations that I used to have in the past.

“It’s obvious, no? It’s one year (away). It’s surgery. For me it is a little bit unpredictable how things are going to be.”

While the tennis world is focused on Nadal’s comeback, another former Grand Slam champion, Marin Cilic, is playing his first event after an injury-ravaged 2023 during which he thought his career might be over.

When the 2014 US Open champion injured his right knee almost exactly a year ago at the Pune tournament in India, he had no idea it would herald 12 months of pain, surgery, rehab and reflection.

But the big-serving Croat is back on court in Hong Kong this week, wondering if the long months of treatment and the hard work to come back have all been worth it.

“For many years on tour, I’ve been blessed without having any big injuries,” the 35-year-old said.

“If there is going to be an opportunity for me to come back, then maybe I can be even more hungry or a little bit more motivated.

“If I have the opportunity to play I’ll be really happy. If not, if things go sideways or go wrong, you know, that’s still OK.” AFP