When will Rafael Nadal return? Spanish star to end season with ATP Finals, confirms coach

The last time Rafael Nadal featured on the tennis court was during the Laver Cup 2022 where he played alongside Roger Federer in his farewell game. The Spaniard has not played any competitive tennis since his fourth-round loss at the US Open to Frances Tiafoe in September. Earlier there were no updates about his return date to competitive tennis but now his coach Carlos Moya has finally given an update on Nadal's return to competitive tennis.

Carlos Moya provides an update on Rafael Nadal's return from injury

Rafael Nadal's coach Carlos Moya has confirmed his availability for the Paris Masters. Speaking to Balearic television station IB3 Moya said, "Before arriving in Turin, you have to play matches in Paris, which are similar. He has not been able to win it, but he has achieved good results and has come close to doing so on several occasions. We always have hope and illusion, because Rafael is competitive anywhere.”

The 2022 season has been filled with injuries for Rafael Nadal. Talking about Rafael Nadal's injury, the Spaniard had suffered a rib injury which saw him miss the start of the clay-court season. Besides rib, Nadal also had chronic foot problem due to which he took an indefinite break after the French Open before an abdominal injury ended his campaign at Wimbledon. Despite suffering from injuries, the current World No. 2 had already booked his place for the ATP Finals in Turin on the back of winning the Australian Open and French Open. Besides, the Spaniard had also reached the semi-final of Wimbledon. 

Prize money for ATP Finals 2022 revealed

The ATP Finals 2022 is set to get underway on November 13 and will conclude on November 20. So far five players have qualified for the ATP Finals in 2022. World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas have already qualified for ATP finals and there are only three spots yet to be filled. The stakes at this year's ATP finals got higher after the prize money for the event was increased. 

According to ATP, if a player wins the ATP finals tournament without losing even a single match across the week in the ATP Finals in 2022, they will pocket £4,230,030 ($4,740,300). This is the biggest ever prize money that will be awarded to the winner, which surpasses the previous best of £3.9m ($4.2m) that was won by Ashleigh Barty in the 2019 WTA finals. Apart from winning such a huge amount, the winner will be awarded with 1500 ranking points besides the trophy. This increased prize money for the ATP Finals 2022 is thrice the amount offered during the 2019 edition, which was $1,354,000.