WATCH: All eyes on Rafael Nadal as he keeps updating fans with impressive progress videos ahead of Indian Wells and Miami

The former World No. 1 has also signed up for the Netflix Slam which will be played prior to the Indian Wells Masters.

WATCH: All eyes on Rafael Nadal as he keeps updating fans with impressive progress videos ahead of Indian Wells and Miami

Rafael Nadal (images via Nadal's Instagram story)

World No. 652 Rafael Nadal is sweating it out on the courts of his academy as he prepares for the upcoming Sunshine Double next month. Having picked up an injury in Brisbane International in his season opener, he has not played since.

This saw him miss out on the 2024 Australian Open with many fans questioning if he will ever return. Nadal has already hinted at this season being his final season owing to his frequent injuries. More importantly, his chronic foot injury is making things difficult for him in everyday life too.

YouTube video

A forced exit is something no player and his fans ever want to see. But to the misfortune of the 22-time Grand Slam title winner, it looks unavoidable. He was scheduled to play in this week’s Qatar Open in Doha as well. But his recovery wasn’t up to the mark. As a result, he withdrew a few days ago.

FS Video

He however confirmed his plans to play the Masters event in Indian Wells and Miami. He is also scheduled to play the ‘Netflix Slam‘ against Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas before Indian Wells begins. With the ‘rafans’ anxious about his return, he took to his Instagram stories to share a training update.

The Spaniard was seen having a sparring session on an indoor court of his academy. He exchanged a few backhands and forehands while also stretching wide for one of his return.

His opponent however tumbled in getting to one of Nadal’s return and the former World No. 1 channelled his inner Gael Monfils to hit a slam dunk winner.

Rafael Nadal is yet to capture the ‘Sunshine Double’

Sunshine Double is the colloquial term used to identify the twin Masters events of Indian Wells and Miami. The Indian Wells event is the first Masters-1000 tournament on the ATP Tour every season. The entire month of March is occupied by these two events.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Via Imago)

Indian Wells is dubbed as the tennis paradise and also the ‘fifth Grand Slam’ of the sport. This is due to its massive seating capacity and the huge number of fans that visit the tournament. Nadal is a three-time champion at the tournament from his 15 appearances so far.

His wins came in 2007, 2009, and 2013 with his finals win coming against Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Juan Martin del Potro respectively. He reached the finals in 2011 and 2022 as well but lost to Nole and Taylor Fritz respectively.

In Miami, Nadal is yet to win the coveted trophy. He has reached the finals on five occasions but had to settle for the runners-up trophy each time. The King of Clay finished runner-up in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017. He lost to Federer in 2005 and 2017 while Nikolay Davydenko beat him in 2008.

The other two defeats came at the hands of Djokovic. You can check out the entire list of players who have won both the Masters titles here.

In case you missed it: