Rafael Nadal set to return to competition, will reveal comeback plans soon

Rafael Nadal is sure he'll be returning to competition after missing nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that required surgery. And now he says he'll be revealing his comeback plans soon.

Nadal wrote Thursday on social media: "I confirmed yesterday I'll be back" and punctuated that message with a smiling emoji.

"Stay tuned," he continued in the Instagram post, which included a photograph of him about to hit a backhand. He said that in the coming days he will "decide and announce with my team when and where" everyone can expect to see him in action.

Next season begins in late December, with the year's first major tournament, the Australian Open, scheduled to begin main-draw matches on Jan. 14.

"For the world of tennis, no doubt that it's amazing news that he'll be back," Novak Djokovic said at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.

Nadal, whose 22 Grand Slam singles titles rank second to Djokovic's 24 for the most among men, has not played on tour since last January, when he hurt his hip flexor during a loss to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open.

In May, a little more than a week before the start of his beloved French Open, Nadal announced that he would miss the tournament he's won a record 14 times and wasn't exactly sure when he might return to play.

He said then he hoped to compete in 2024, which he expected to be his final season.

He wound up having arthroscopic surgery in June in Barcelona.

Dating to the end of 2022, the 37-year-old Spanish left-hander has lost seven of his past nine matches, including going 1-3 this season.

With Roger Federer, who won 20 majors, having announced his retirement in 2022, and Nadal missing much of this year, Djokovic was the only member of the so-called Big Three