“Rafa is not 20 years old anymore,” Rising ATP icon assesses Rafael Nadal’s comeback performance with a chug of inspiration from the legend

Rafael Nadal recently faced an unfortunate quarterfinal defeat during his comeback campaign at the 2024 Brisbane International on Friday, January 5.

Subsequently, a young tennis aspirant from Jordan and a trainee at the Spaniard’s academy, Abdullah Shelbayh, provided insight into the former’s game intensity despite being aged 37 years old, ultimately inspiring the Jordanian to perform at his level best.

Former World No. 1 Nadal made a strong comeback at the Brisbane International after spending 12 months on the sidelines due to a hip injury he sustained in the previous edition of the Australian Open. Despite delivering promising results with straight set wins over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler, the Spaniard’s dream run was thwarted by Jordan Thompson in quarterfinal round of the ATP 250 event.

Furthermore, the 37-year-old seemingly re-injured his hip during his clash against the Aussie after he requested a full medical timeout to tend to the aforementioned concern. Following his unfortunate defeat, Jordanian tennis prodigy Abdullah Shelbayh talked highly of Rafael Nadal during an exclusive interview with the Olympics.

It is worth noting that Shelbayh has been a trainee at the Rafa Nadal Academy for five years now and aims to replicate Nadal’s commendable achievements for his home country, Jordan. He said:

Rafa’s not 20 years old anymore, but he’s like 20 in terms of his intensity. The intensity is always very high. It forces you to be like, 'If Rafa is doing it like this at this age, I need to, too.

told Abdullah Shelbayh via Olympics.com

The then 19-year-old Abdullah Shelbayh scripted history after he became the first Jordanian tennis pro to bag an ATP Challenger Tour title at the LTP Challenger in Charleston last season.

Rafael Nadal sheds light on his injury score ahead of the 2024 Australian Open

Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal addressed his flared-up hip injury concern in a post-match press conference after suffering a quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson. The 22-time Grand Slam champion asserted that he would require a night’s rest to assess its severity and hoped that the same wouldn’t affect his chances at the season’s first major, the Australian Open.

I need to see how I wake up tomorrow morning. I mean, we have been talking these last days, talking about the positive things. That's why I am not over-positive when I have been talking. I have been talking with a lot of precaution because I know after a year is difficult for the body to be playing tournaments at the highest level.I don't know. I mean, I hope is not important and I hope to have the chance to be practicing next week and to play Melbourne. Honestly, I am not 100% sure of anything now.

Nadal said during his press conference in Brisbane.

The previous edition of the Australian Open witnessed the fall of Nadal after he sustained a hip injury during his first-round performance against Mackenzie McDonald.

In case you missed it:

• “One of a kind” – Social media lauds ‘gentleman’ Rafael Nadal for signing autograph for fans after a 3.5 hour loss and awful hip pain
• WATCH: “You simply cannot hate him!” – Andrey Rublev forcing Arthur Fils to challenge an ‘out’ serve call has fans hailing him for unmatched sportsmanship

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