Milos Raonic set to end 2-year injury layoff at s-Hertogenbosch against Miomir Kecmanovic

Canadian tennis player Milos Raonic will return to competitive tennis for the first time since 2021 at this year's s-Hertogenbosch Open.

Raonic never officially retired, but he hasn't been seen in a tournament since losing to Brandon Nakashima, 7-5, 3-6, 6-7(4), in the second round of the 2021 Atlanta Open.

Tennis fans were wondering what happened to the former World No. 3, but no updates were given until 2023. Raonic is now officially expected to be back on the court for the first time since July 2021.

The Canadian is registered for the 2023 s-Hertogenbosch, one of the first tournaments of the grasscourt season.

He will be using his protected ranking and will play against World No. 37 Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of the tournament on Monday, June 12.

If Raonic manages to upset Kecmanovic, he will play against either Jordan Thompson or a currently unknown qualifier/lucky loser in the second round.

The 32-year-old was recently spotted practising for the grasscourt season at the St. George's Hill Lawn Tennis Club in England

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What happened to Milos Raonic?

The 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic has been absent from the ATP tour for almost two years, playing his last match at the 2021 Atlanta Open as the top seed.

He lost to Brandon Nakashima in three sets after returning to the circuit following a three-month injury absence due to a thigh niggle. Since then, the Canadian has had more injury troubles - from an Achilles issue to a broken toe.

Many fans thought Raonic had retired, but his coach Mario Tudor revealed that this wasn't the case, in an interview in December 2022.

"Surely there were black thoughts and contemplating retirement, which is reasonable when you lose two seasons in a row. But Milos loves tennis a tad too much and I'm telling you that he's very motivated to come back on tour.

"You got to know he has earned enough to live happily ever after. He won't come back due to money, more so he can do what he enjoys the most," Tudor revealed in an interview with Sport Klub.

The former World No. 3's best career result was the Wimbledon final in 2016, where he lost to Andy Murray, 4-6, 6-7(3), 6-7(2). In the same year, he managed to reach the semifinal of the Australian Open, losing to Andy Murray as well, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4), 4-6, 2-6.

Raonic never managed to get past the fourth round of the US Open and played the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2014, losing to Novak Djokovic, 5-7, 6-7(5), 4-6.