What does Rafael Nadal's schedule look like for the rest of the 2022 season?

Rafael Nadal is set to compete in an exhibition tour in South America late next month. His recently revealed plan confirms that the 22-time Grand Slam champion is keen to play at least a bit more tennis before the 2022 season ends.

As things stand, Nadal has not announced his intention to participate in any tour-level tournament until the end of the season as he awaits the birth of his first child back home in Mallorca. At the same time, the Spaniard is nursing a relapse of an abdominal injury at the US Open, which he first suffered at Wimbledon.

While he had hinted at probably not playing again this season soon after his US Open exit last month, he is now expected to play in some big tournaments still to come in 2022.

The month of October sees a string of ATP 250 tournaments before two ATP 500 tournaments in Vienna and Basel, respectively, which will be held in the same week (October 24-30). Given Nadal's personal situation, he might next be seen on the court at the Paris Masters, the final Masters 1000 tournament of the season, which begins on October 31. The Paris Masters will be an important tournament in his quest to end the year as World No. 1 for the sixth time in his career.

On the back of a stellar season that has seen him win two Grand Slams and two other tour-level titles, the World No. 2 was the first player to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin, scheduled for November 13-20. The 36-year-old is expected to play in the ATP Finals as he searches for his first title in the season-ending finale.

He will be joined by Casper Ruud for his South America exhibition tour, which will begin on November 23. The two players will first compete in Buenos Aires. The tour then heads to Bogota, Quinto, and Belo Horizonte, before concluding in Mexico City.

While the season ends in November, top players are often seen at the Mubadala Tennis Championships exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, around mid-late December. Nadal himself competed last year as well and could play again in 2022 to get some match time before heading to Australia for the start of the 2023 season.

Rafael Nadal closes in on World No. 1 spot

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Rafael Nadal moved up to the World No. 2 spot as a new round of ATP Rankings was released on Monday. Casper Ruud's quarterfinal loss at the Korea Open last week saw him fall to the 3rd spot, with the Spaniard overtaking him. Carlos Alcaraz keeps his World No. 1 ranking for now with 6,740 ranking points to his compatriot's tally of 5,810 points.

This is the first time in history that two Spaniards have occupied the top 2 spots in the ATP Rankings at the same time.

Earlier this year, Nadal enjoyed his best ever start to a season with a 20-match winning streak. He has a 38-5 win-loss record this season and was unbeaten at the Grand Slams until his fourth-round loss at the US Open in September.