Rafael Nadal is playing to a “very high level”, according to his training partner Arthur Fils. The Spaniard is set to return to the court in 2024 for a farewell season after an inactive 2023 campaign marred by injury.

Nadal was sidelined for the majority of this year after undergoing surgery on his hip flexor but is expected to be back in action next month at the Australian Open. Two weeks before the Melbourne major, he is set to compete at the Brisbane International in preparation for the clay court Grand Slam.

The 37-year-old is training hard with Fils in the lead-up to both events and the messages being relayed back from Nadal’s young training partner to Roger Federer’s former coach Ivan Ljubicic have been very positive.

“Nadal? Fils wrote to me that he is playing at a very high level. I still expect great things from Rafa,” Ljubicic told Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday. Although Ljubicic expects “great things” from the 22-time Grand Slam champion, he is realistic about what he can achieve at this stage in his career. “Yes, Rafa will start again soon, probably already in AO24 (Australia Open.

It is gonna be a big challenge because he is already 37 years old, and for sure he will face many problems and challenges. I think it will be his last year and a maximum of 12 tournaments. I don’t think he can do more.

Nadal will be in the main draw of the 2024 Australian Open as it has been confirmed he will use his protected ranking for the tournament. The former world No 1 slumped to No 664 in the ATP Rankings this year having only accumulated 45 points but will automatically qualify for the tournament as he has a protected ranking of sixth. Nadal will not be seeded though as per the ATP rules. Marin Cilic (21), Denis Shapovalov (27) and Milos Raonic (33) will also use their protected rankings to enter the draw.