Rafael Nadal on Wednesday insisted he will be “competitive” when he returns to professional tennis next month after enduring nearly a year out of action due to injury. The 22-time Grand Slam champion has undergone surgery twice in 2023 after struggling with a hip injury. He has said next year will likely be his last season before retirement and announced last week he would make his comeback at the Australian Open warm-up event in Brisbane, which runs from January 1-7. Nadal announced plans to take his first steps back at the Brisbane International, following almost a year out due to left hip surgery. The 37-year-old Spaniard, who limped out of his Australian Open title defence in the second round in 2023 and did not play again all season, has fallen to world No.663 and will use a protected ranking of No.9 to make his return. @@@@