"Welcome home" - Rafael Nadal becomes centre of attraction for photographers as he takes practice court for the first time in Brisbane

Rafael Nadal has arrived in Brisbane, where he has taken to the practice courts ahead of his comeback at the Brisbane International.

The Spaniard hasn't played a single tennis match since the Australian Open 2023 where he had a poor title defense that ended with a second-round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald. Nadal suffered a hip injury during the match, that eventually forced him to end his 2023 season.

The Spaniard was recently seen heading to the practice courts for his first training session in Brisbane. Several photographers surrounded him, with one of them saying:

"Welcome home."

Nadal has been given a wildcard for the 2024 Brisbane International. This will be just his second career appearance at the ATP 250 event.

His previous participation came in 2017, when he was seeded fifth. The Spaniard booked his place in the quarterfinals with wins over Alexander Dolgopolov and Mischa Zverev before losing to top seed Milos Raonic.

Nadal went on to win two Grand Slams that year, at the French Open and US Open.

Rafael Nadal will compete at Australian Open 2024 too

Rafael Nadal practicing ahead of Brisbane International 2024

After the Brisbane International, Nadal is scheduled to compete at the Australian Open through a protected ranking.

The Spaniard has won 77 out of 93 matches in his career at the Melbourne Major, winning two titles. The first of these came in 2009 when he beat his rival Roger Federer in a thrilling final. He had defeated Olivier Rochus, Roko Karanusic, Tommy Haas, Fernando Gonzalez, Gilles Simon and Fernando Verdasco on his way to the summit clash.

The King of Clay came close to winning the Australian Open in 2012 too, but lost to Novak Djokovic in a match that remains the longest-ever Grand Slam final (in terms of minutes).

He lost three other finals - to Stan Wawrinka in 2014, Roger Federer in 2017 and Djokovic in 2019.

Nadal's second Australian Open title came in 2022. He beat Marcos Giron, Yannick Hanfmann, Karen Khachanov, Adrian Mannarino, Denis Shapovalov, and Matteo Berrettini to reach the final. The Spaniard then came back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev and clinch his 21st Grand Slam singles title.

It remains to be seen what Rafael Nadal's next tournament after the 2024 Australian Open will be. He was recently confirmed as a participant at the Barcelona Open.