Everyone’s favorite Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, is returning to the tennis slopes this week. The former World No. 1 will be playing for the first time since August.

Owing to a foot injury, Nadal had exited the tour and finished off his season early in August. Now, he is going to return to the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.

Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem will be playing after a long while

The Mubadala World Tennis Championship is an end-of-year exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. Open to both ATP and WTA players, it started back in 2009. Thus, this year will be the MWTC’s 13th edition.

20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has won an incredible five times at the tournament in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, he is the current defending champion at the cup as well! After almost a six-month break, Rafa is set to return to the game and begin his 2022 campaign from Abu Dhabi.

The MWTC was initially called the Capitala World Tennis Championship. It aimed to promote tennis in the Middle East, by forming a world-class tennis event in the region.

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The championship started with a six-player lineup competing for the trophy. This year, it is going to be an eight-player lineup, including the likes of Dominic Thiem, Casper Ruud, and Denis Shapovalov.

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Dominic Thiem, too, is returning after a long recovery from his wrist injury, and fans are very excited to see the Austrian.

The MWTC will host Emma Raducanu and Belinda Bencic

The first-ever women’s match at the MWTC was only in 2017, played between Serena Williams and Jelena Ostapenko. Since then, the women’s draw has boasted of star players from the WTA gracing Abu Dhabi.

This year, perhaps the biggest attraction on the women’s lineup is 19-year-old US Open winner Emma Raducanu. She will be joined by Swiss Belinda Bencic, in a potential repeat of their US Open quarter-final.

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