Kei Nishikori hits the training ground ahead of his comeback

Kei Nishikori has been training hard ahead of his much-anticipated return to the professional tennis circuit. He has been hitting the ball with top tennis players to prepare himself for the comeback.

The Japanese took to social media to share a video of one of his training sessions. In the video, he is seen practicing his forehand, backhand, and volley with American tennis professional and World No. 92 Michael Mmoh and his coach Max Miryni, a former doubles Grand Slam champion from Belarus. Nishikori is currently training at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

"Good day at the office with @MichaelMmoh and Max at the @IMGAcademy," Nishikori captioned the video

Nishikori has been regularly sharing videos of his training session on social media, giving fans a glimpse of his progress. The Japanese star has said he will return to professional tennis in May and play the Challenger event on the hard courts in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The 33-year-old last played a professional tennis match in October 2021 at the Indian Wells Open. He was ranked World No. 53 at the time and lost to UK's Dan Evans, ranked 22 at the time, in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

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Kei Nishikori outlines plans for his comeback in 2023

Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori has been sidelined from professional tennis for nearly two years after a prolonged recovery period following hip surgery. The former World No. 4 underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery at the start of 2022 and stated that doctors had to trim off his hip bones.

"My bones have been deformed in hip and elbow, I needed surgery to trim the bones otherwise I feel pain," he told at the time.

The 12-time champion on the ATP tour announced in April 2023 that he will make his long-awaited return to the sport and play a few Challenger tournaments. His returning event would be UAMS Health Little Rock Open in Little Rock, Arkansas, which takes place from May 29-June 4.

Kei Nishikori also plans to play at the Tyler Tennis Championships in Tyler, Texas (June 5 to June 11) and Caribbean Open in Palmas Del Mar, Puerto Rico (June 12-June 18).

The former US Open finalist initially planned to make a comeback in the second half of 2022. However, his plans were derailed after more setbacks in his recovery injury.

Nishikori, who won the singles bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is currently unranked in the Live ATP ranking, and playing these matches in the USA and Puerto Rico will surely help him get his groove back.