Rafael Nadal features on Indian Wells 2024 entry list, set to enter Masters 1000 event with protected ranking

Rafael Nadal is set to enter the main draw of the 2024 Indian Wells Masters using his protected ranking.

Nadal missed most of last season due to a hip injury that he sustained at the 2023 Australian Open. Despite multiple attempts, his slow recovery prevented him from returning. Nevertheless, he returned for the 2024 season and participated in the Brisbane International.

Nadal's first match at the Brisbane International was a doubles contest where he partnered compatriot Marc Lopez. The duo lost the match, but Nadal showed glimpses of his brilliance in his singles first-round match against Dominic Thiem. The Spaniard dominated from the first point to the last to win the match 7-5, 6-1.

Nadal then defeated Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 in the second round. However, his comeback was short-lived in the third round by Australian Jordan Thompson. After clinching the first set 7-5, Nadal's fatigue crept in from the second set onwards, and Thompson capitalized.

Thompson defeated Nadal 7-6(6) in the second set, and a 6-3 win in the third set confirmed the Spaniard's exit. Nadal was forced to take a medical timeout due to a muscle problem during the match. A week before the year's first Grand Slam, the 2024 Australian Open, Nadal announced his withdrawal due to the same problem.

Nadal is set to return to action in the Qatar Open in Doha and is also on the entry list of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells

Rafael Nadal's rich history at the Indian Wells Masters

2024 Brisbane International: Day 6

The Indian Wells Masters has been a happy hunting ground for Rafael Nadal in the past. The Spaniard's first Indian Wells Masters title came in 2007, when he defeated Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 7-5, to clinch the crown.

In 2009, Nadal defeated Andy Murray 6-1, 6-2 in the final to win the Indian Wells Masters title, followed by his third title in 2013, where he defeated Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Nadal has finished as the runner-up twice, once in 2011, when Novak Djokovic avenged his 2007 loss with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win, and again in 2022, when Taylor Fritz sprang an epic shock by winning the final 6-3, 7-6(5).