Rafael Nadal competes in Balearic Mid-Amateur Golf Championship ahead of return to Indian Wells 2024
Rafael Nadal has signed up to compete at the 2024 Balearic Mid-Amateur Golf Championship in Mallorca, Spain. This comes ahead of the Spaniard's expected return to the ATP Tour at the Indian Wells Masters in March.
Nadal is an avid golf enthusiast and played in the Balearic Mid-Amateur Golf Championship in 2022. He has signed up to play in the tournament once again while working his way back to consistent action on the ATP Tour. The 37-year-old had returned to tennis in January after nearly a year away from action due to a hip injury.
So far, he has played only one tournament, the Brisbane International, and suffered another injury that has kept him out of action. Meanwhile, he is back in Spain and playing golf at the Balearic Mid-Amateur Golf Championship.
The tournament's official social media page shared sneak peeks of Nadal in action:
The 22-time Grand Slam champion finished in first place at the end of day one, ahead of Jaime Nicholau Olmos and Philip Marc Salva Montulet.
The former World No. 1 also shared a picture of him hitting a shot on his Instagram account:
Rafael Nadal withdraws from Qatar Open before Indian Wells return
Rafael Nadal was set to return to the ATP Tour at the Qatar Open next week. However, he has been forced to withdraw from the tournament due to prolonged recovery after suffering an injury at the 2024 Brisbane International. The Mallorcan is now set to play an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas and then he will compete at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
In an Instagram post on February 14, the 14-time Roland Garros champion said that while he has been sharing images and videos of his practice sessions, he is not ready to compete on the tour yet. He thanked Qatar Open organizations for their support and understanding.
"Hello everyone. After the videos and photos I've been sharing, I've been working on getting back playing asap. Would love to play in Doha next week but I'm not ready to compete yet," Nadal wrote.
Very grateful to the tournament team in Qatar, who has always had all kinds of attentions towards me and my team. 🙏🏻 Also to all the fans who have always cheered me up tremendously and whom I will miss.," he wrote on Instagram. Continuing prep for the show in Las Vegas with @carlitosalcarazz and then on to the Indian Wells Spectacular Tournament," he added.