Rafael Nadal shares glimpses of latest gym session as he nears Doha comeback

Rafael Nadal is training hard in his academy as he is nearing his second tournament of 2024 at the Qatar Open in Doha.

The Spaniard played his first tournament since the 2023 Australian Open at the Brisbane International by using a protected ranking. He started the tournament with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Dominic Thiem before defeating Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.

Here, he was beaten 7-5, 6-7(6), 3-6 by Jordan Thompson despite having a match point. The 37-year-old suffered a micro tear in his hip during the match, which ruled him out of the Australian Open.

It was later confirmed that Nadal would make his return during the Middle-Eastern swing at the Qatar Open in Doha. The Spaniard has since been training hard in his academy in Manacor and recently shared a video on Instagram which had glimpses of a training session in his gym.

"When it's gym time," Nadal captioned his video.

Rafael Nadal will compete at the Qatar Open for the first time since 2016

The Spaniard in action at the Brisbane International

Rafael Nadal's participation at this season's Qatar Open will be his first in the tournament since 2016 when he was seeded second. The Spaniard reached the final following wins over Pablo Carreno Busta, Robin Haase, Andrey Kuznetsov and Ilya Marchenko. Here, he was comfortably beaten 6-1, 6-2 by Novak Djokovic.

Nadal's only title at the Qatar Open came in 2014 when he was the top seed. The Spaniard booked his spot in the final after defeating Lukas Rosol, Tobias Kamke, Ernests Gulbis and Peter Gojowczyk. Here, he triumphed 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2 over Gael Monfils in the final.

Joining Nadal at Qatar Open 2024 are some quality players in Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, who are the top two seeds. The likes of Karen Khachanov, Ugo Humbert, Alexander Bublik and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will also compete in the tournament.

After the ATP 250 event in Doha, the Spaniard is registered to compete at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells using a protected ranking. His last participation in the Masters 1000 event came in 2022 when he reached the final where he was defeated by Taylor Fritz.

The Spaniard is currently placed 647th in the ATP rankings due to his prolonged absence from tour in 2023.