Rafael Nadal out of 2024 Australian Open

Few tennis players attract the level of attention and scrutiny that Rafael Nadal does, with the Spaniard having been a prolific winner with international betting sites for the best part of two decades. 

However, now aged 37, fans fear that his latest injury setback may stop him from returning to Melbourne Park in the future.   

Rafael Nadal is always big business everywhere he goes and his presence in Australia at the start of 2024 piqued interest with punters and betting apps as he was expected to be taking part in the Australian Open. 
 
Initial signs looked good, with Nadal getting past Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler with relative ease in the Brisbane International warm-up event but, the optimism surrounding Nadal returning to action at Melbourne Park was short lived. 

A grueling 3-set loss to Jordan Thompson in the last 8 was tough for Nadal to take but even more devastating for the Spaniard was the injury diagnosis he announced after the defeat. 
 
Nadal is now set to miss the 2024 Australian Open, a tournament he has won on two occasions and his future in the sport looks uncertain.  
 
Melbourne Magic 

Despite being known as the ‘King of Clay’ and having won the French Open an incredible 14-times, Rafael Nadal has always produced some amazing tennis at Melbourne Park. 
 
Winning the title in 2009 was part of Nadal’s all conquering dominance at the end of the 2010’s, whilst his seismic comeback against Daniil Medvedev in the 2022 Australian Open final is regarded as one of the all-time great performances. 
 
With 4 runners-up efforts at the Australian Open too, Rafael Nadal has always been a hit with Australian tennis fans and his absence from the 2024 tournament will be a blow for all connected to the event. 
 
What next for Rafa? 

Rafael Nadal explaining to the world that he will be missing the 2024 Australian Open does pose a question as to what the future holds for the Spanish legend. 
 
Winning 22 Grand Slams sees only Novak Djokovic stand above him on the list of all-time singles winners and his status as one of the best players to have ever graced the court is unquestioned. 
 
However, aged 37, and with his body seemingly failing him, question marks do circulate as to how much further Nadal can continue to operate at the sharp end of the sport. 
 
The 2024 French Open would be an obvious target point for Nadal after his latest injury setback, with the Spaniard sure to be amongst the favourites for Roland Garros glory. 
 
Can anybody stop Novak in Melbourne? 

With Rafael Nadal and home favourite Nick Kyrgios out of action, Novak Djokovic is the hot favourite to prevail at Melbourne Park for an incredible 11th time. 
 
The Serbian world number one has a special relationship with the Australian Open and he will take some stopping in 2024. 
 
Elsewhere, exciting young prospect Carlos Alcaraz will be chasing a third Grand Slam title, as will the likes of Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev will also be fully in the hunt for Australian Open glory this summer.

The presence of Rafael Nadal in any event is always a big draw for punters and online betting sites but the Spaniard has been ruled out of the 2024 Australian Open. 

In his absence, the usual suspects align in pursuit of glory at Melbourne Park, with fans left to wonder whether Rafael Nadal will take part at an Australian Open ever again in the future.