Rafael Nadal makes his highly anticipated competitive return at the Brisbane International tomorrow.
The Spanish superstar will feature in a first-round men’s doubles match alongside Marc Lopez, who he partnered in 2016 to win an Olympic gold medal.
The 41-year-old Lopez has been a member of Nadal’s coaching team since 2021.
The wildcard pairing take on the all-Australian combination of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in the final match scheduled at Pat Rafter Arena.
This will be Nadal’s first doubles match since partnering Roger Federer in his long-time rival’s farewell match at the Laver Cup in 2022.
> VIEW: Brisbane International 2024 day one order of play
Arina Rodionova, Australia’s top-ranked woman, has the honour of opening play at Pat Rafter Arena from 11am. She faces Italian Martina Trevisan, who broke into the world’s top 20 in 2023.
American Sloane Stephens, a former world No.3 and the US Open 2017 champion, follows against Czech Katerina Siniakova, an Olympic gold medallist in doubles.
The centre court line-up also features an all-Australian clash between Alexei Popyrin and Chris O’Connell, who both recently achieved career-high rankings.
Nadal is not the only big name featuring in doubles action, with Andy Murray, Holger Rune, Grigor Dimitrov, Sebastian Korda and Ben Shelton among the stars beginning their Brisbane International campaigns on day one.
For Australian fans hoping to cheer on their local heroes, Daria Saville, Priscilla Hon and Talia Gibson feature in women’s doubles first-round matches.
A jam-packed schedule also includes the conclusion of the men’s qualifying singles competition.