Tennis

Rafael Nadal suffers doubles defeat on his return to competitive action

Spanish star has been out of action for almost a year after suffering a hip injury at the Australian Open

Rafael Nadal of Spain plays a forehand in his doubles match with Marc Lopez of Spain against Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson of Australia during day one of the Brisbane International at Queensland Tennis Centre. Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Sun Dec 31 2023 - 12:21

Rafael Nadal suffered a doubles defeat as the 22-time Grand Slam champion returned after nearly a year on the sidelines.

The Spaniard has been out since suffering a hip injury during a second-round contest at the Australian Open in January.

Nadal underwent surgery in June and returned to the competitive action at the Brisbane International on Sunday alongside Marc Lopez, who he won Olympic gold with at Rio 2016.

The pair fell to a 6-4 6-4 defeat to the Australian duo of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, but there were some promising signs from the 37-year-old.

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Nadal now switches his attention to singles action and Tuesday’s clash with 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem, who he practised with in Brisbane earlier this week.

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