Rafael Nadal trains for ‘Six Kings Slam’

Rafael Nadal is preparing for the upcoming ‘Six Kings Slam’ exhibition in Saudi Arabia. The 22-time Major winner will compete for the first time since the Olympics and will face Carlos Alcaraz or Holger Rune in the semi-finals.

The veteran took to the field at home in Mallorca, hoping to practice without any problems in the coming weeks and perform well at the upcoming high-profile exhibition. Nadal withdrew from the US Open, stayed home and spent time with his family.

The Spaniard is keen to compete again before he ends the season and joins the Spanish Davis Cup squad in Malaga. After a great run in the first half of 2022, Rafa lost ground due to injuries in the second half of the season.

The legend finished the season as world number one. 2 but without form, competes at the 2023 Australian Open with dark clouds overhead. Nadal injured his left hip in the second round, underwent surgery in June and missed the rest of the season.

The 22-time Major winner left the top 600 after more than two decades, starting from the bottom in 2024. The Spaniard returned to action in Brisbane in the opening week, beating two rivals.

Rafa wasted three match points against Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals, losing after a huge battle in three and a half hours. Feeling the pain around his sore hip, he skipped the Australian Open without risking anything after the longest break of his career.

Nadal went home and practiced for Doha and Indian Wells. However, he suffered an abdominal injury, stayed away from the court until April and suffered further setbacks. Rafa withdrew from Monte Carlo and entered the Barcelona draw, where he competed for the first time in 100 days.

The king of clay lost in the second round on the field that bears his name and moved to Madrid. The four-time Caja Magica winner played better and recorded three wins for the first time since September 2022.

Rafael Nadal trains in Mallorca ahead of the ‘Six Kings Slam’ exhibition.

Nadal fell in the fourth round and suffered an early Rome Masters defeat to Hubert Hurkacz, playing a few matches and not liking his chances at Roland Garros.

They became even smaller when he became world no. 4 Alexander Zverev in the first round. Two rivals battled for more than three hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier, and the German scored a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 victory, handing the Spaniard’s first defeat to his beloved major.

The fourteen-time winner lost his chances in the second set and fell in the third, experiencing his fourth Roland Garros defeat. As expected, Rafa stayed away from the grass swing, staying on clay and training in Mallorca and Greece.

Nadal recovered his game and traveled to Bastad, where he competed in the ATP 250 event for the first time since winning the title in 2005! It was the king of clay’s final preparation ahead of the Olympic Games, and he played his best tournament since Wimbledon two years earlier!

Rafa battled past four rivals to reach his first ATP final in more than two years and become one of the oldest clay-court finalists in the Open era. The veteran endured a four-hour marathon against Mariano Navone in the quarterfinals to take another hard-fought victory for a spot in the title fight.

However, he didn’t have much left in the tank against first-time ATP finalist Nuno Borges, winning five matches and missing a chance to lift his first ATP trophy since June 2022. Rafa lost a lot of energy and traveled to Paris and started preparing for his fourth Olympic Games.

The veteran suffered another setback, injuring his right thigh and playing with a bandage. Nadal made a winning start in singles and found magic in doubles alongside Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard failed to chase a medal after meeting the doubles specialists in the quarter-final, and Rafa was unable to chase his second singles gold medal.

He defeated Marton Fucsovics in the first round and set up his 60th meeting with Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian was the favorite and proved it on the court with a 6-1, 6-4 victory in an hour and 43 minutes, ending the Spaniard’s Olympic Games.

Novak defeated Rafa on Court Philippe-Chatrier for the third time in his career after a fine performance, taking ten of the first eleven games for a huge 6-1, 4-0 lead. Eager to fight back, Nadal played through four games and set the score at 4-4 before Djokovic sealed the deal with another break and a fine hold.

Novak was the only player in the opening set, dominated on serve and return and closed the first part of the match in style.

The Serbian continued that form, grabbing two early breaks in the second set on his way to his most dominant victory on clay over main rival.

Rafa ended his downfall and pulled back both breaks, hitting with more pace and using the crowd’s support. Djokovic remained focused and generated four break chances in the ninth game, converting the last with a drop shot winner and serving for the win at 5-4.

World No. 2 hit two winners for 30-15 and delivered a service winner for two match points. He converted the first with an ace to beat Rafa for the 31st time in 60 encounters. As expected, Nadal couldn’t say much about his plans after a heavy defeat, although he did hint at the US Open withdrawal.

He missed the final Major of the season and the Laver Cup, and we should see him in action in Saudi Arabia in a few weeks.

💥 Rafa back in training!

👀 His next event is the ‘Six Kings Slam’ exhibition in Saudi Arabia, which takes place in a few weeks

📸 Rafael Nadal IG pic.twitter.com/VK8jVHdwiY — Olly 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) October 1, 2024