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Rafael Nadal has returned to the practice courts at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, much to the delight of his fans.
A couple of weeks ago, Nadal had announced his decision to pull out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. The Spaniard had cited the need to recover from the demanding claycourt season as the reason for his withdrawal.
But Nadal has seemingly had sufficient rest, and is back to training now. In videos that have surfaced on social media, the 35-year-old can be seen practicing on the hardcourts at his academy alongside coach Carlos Moya.
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The videos can be seen in the tweets below:
Rafael Nadal hasn't yet announced a firm schedule for the American hardcourt season. But most believe he is likely to compete in the Masters Series events in Toronto (starting 9 August) and Cincinnati (starting 16 August) before the US Open, which begins on August 30.
In addition to Rafael Nadal's practice videos, some pictures of the Spaniard have also appeared on various social media feeds. These include stills of the 13-time Roland Garros champion with a dental student and with Chahid Charrakh, who goes by the handle Dutch Performante and has over 450,000 followers on Instagram.
As Rafael Nadal practices in Mallorca, his rivals keep their Wimbledon hopes alive in London
Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from Wimbledon and the Olympics came as a surprise to the tennis world. With the spotlight on the Grand Slam race between the Spaniard and rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, every Major tournament counts.
Djokovic won the French Open for the second time last month to move to 19 Grand Slams; the Serb is now just one short of the all-time men's record of 20. That record is currently held jointly by Federer and Nadal.
Djokovic is through to the Round of 32 at the All England Club, after wins over Britain's Jack Draper and former finalist Kevin Anderson. The World No. 1 will meet America's Denis Kudla in the third round on Friday.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer survived a scare against France's Adrian Mannarino on Tuesday. The eight-time Wimbledon champion went down two sets-to-one before taking the match into a deciding set, at which point Mannarino decided to retire due to a knee injury.
In his next match, Federer beat another Frenchman - Richard Gasquet - in straight sets to advance to the Round of 32.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
