Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

Since he set the 2024 season as the possible stage for his comeback, Rafael Nadal has been erring on the side of caution. Facing one of the longest spells away from the game in his career, with a full year sidelined from competition due to an iliopsoas injury in his left leg, the Spaniard is now counting down the days until his return to professional tournament tennis at the ATP 250 in Brisbane, which starts on 29 December.

In the midst of a period of preparation that started in October, with work set to continue over the coming days in Kuwait alongside French #NextGenATP star Arthur Fils, the Spaniard was keen to share his thoughts before returning to the ATP Tour, with a sincere message for fans.

“I have thought many times that it did not make sense,” admitted the Spaniard, whose last match was in the second round of the Australian Open last January. “In the end, there have been many years, many hours of work in which I did not see the result. I still believe what I said in the last press conference, that I do not deserve to end my sports career in a press room. I would like to finish in a different way, and I have fought and kept the illusion for that to happen, with doubts, with bad moments, very bad or better moments.”

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who decided to end his 2023 season before Roland Garros, has had a completely different year to what he has been used to. Away from the big stages, away from the tension of competition, he surrounded himself with his own people in order to make the best decisions at all times.

“I think I have had the right people around me, as I have always had throughout my career,” he explained. “Family, team, friends, I think everyone has helped me decisively to be where I am today, which is with the option of returning to compete. The desire of people who want to watch me play again has also an important impact on my day to day.”

The Mallorcan is being cautious about that return to competition, recognising that it is nothing more than a first step. The next step will be seeing if his body is up to the test.

“It is a reality, there are many chances that it will be my last year, without any doubt,” underlined Nadal. “There are chances that it may only be half a year. There are possibilities that it may be a full year. There are possibilities that we may not be able to reach all that. These are things that right now I do not have the capacity to be able to answer. I am only in conditions to say that I return to compete. There are many possibilities that it is my last year and I am going to enjoy the tournaments in that way.”

In a season with added incentives, such as the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where the tennis will take place on the clay of Roland Garros, the Spaniard has simply sent a message of hope. Only time will dictate the limits of the decisions he has made, including the timing of the end of a career that has already gone down in the history of modern sport.

“I do not want to announce it because in the end I do not know what can happen and I have to give myself the opportunity not to say one thing and then I can be a slave of what I have said,” he explained. “I think it is going to be like that but I can’t be 100 per cent sure because in the end I have worked a lot to come back to compete and if suddenly things and my physique allows me to continue and I enjoy what I do… why am I going to set a deadline?”

The growing rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner added three installments in 2023, with all three Lexus ATP Head2Head matchups coming in semi-finals. After they split two meetings in quick succession at Indian Wells and Miami, Sinner gained a 2-1 edge on the year and a 4-3 advantage overall by beating the Spaniard en route to the Beijing title.

ATPTour.com looks back at their three monumental matchups this season.

Indian Wells SFs, Alcaraz d. Sinner 7-6(4), 6-3
In their first meeting since their five-set epic at the 2023 US Open, Alcaraz won a back-and-forth opening set at the BNP Paribas Open before pulling away early in the second.

The Spaniard started fast but was pegged back by Sinner, who won 11 points in a row and later brought up set point at 6-5 in the opener. But Alcaraz erased the opportunity with the help of a drop shot and powered through the tie-break before building a 3-0 lead in set two. He would see home the victory with relative ease from there.

In a matchup known for highlight-reel points, Alcaraz won the most enthralling exchange of the evening by curling a topspin lob onto the baseline after Sinner forced him to retreat following two tough volleys at the net.

“I’m really happy to get through this great match. Jannik obviously is a really great player with great shots,” Alcaraz said after the victory. “I would say we’re going to have a great rivalry over the years. We are playing in the best tournaments in the world. It’s not over here. We are going to play a lot of great matches.”

The Spaniard would go on to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the title match to lift his first Indian Wells trophy without losing a set and reclaim the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking from Novak Djokovic.

Miami SFs, Sinner d. Alcaraz 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2
Two weeks after their Indian Wells showdown, Sinner gained swift revenge with a comeback victory at the Miami Open presented by Itau. In a show-stopping semi-final, Sinner won one of the points of the year: an action-packed 25-ball rally that ended with a delicate, dipping passing shot to bring the crowd to its feet.

Despite that moment of magic — and early leads in all three sets — Sinner was on the ropes when he faced two break points at 3-4 in the second. But the Italian answered the bell with a match-changing surge, winning 19 of 21 points to take the set and build a 2-0 lead in the decider.

Alcaraz appeared to be struggling physically early in set three, but he willed his way to one final push. In the end, his 22 winners were not enough to overcome 28 off the racquet of his opponent.

“It means a lot. We both played a very, very high level of tennis again. I just tried my best,” Sinner said after advancing to his second Miami final. “We both tried to play very aggressive tennis and today it went my way so I’m very happy.”

Sinner was beaten by Daniil Medvedev in the Miami final but went on to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title later in the season in Toronto.

Beijing SFs, Sinner d. Alcaraz 7-6(4), 6-1
After Alcaraz won 7-4 tie-breaks to open each of their previous two matches, Sinner claimed the opening-set tie-break by the same scoreline at the China Open.

In a marathon opening frame, Sinner twice came back from a break down. He began to take control by moving Alcaraz around the baseline and winning all 15 of his net points in the set.

After navigating a tense opening to the second set, fighting off five break points across his first two service games, Sinner sprinted through the finish line to move ahead 4-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head with Alcaraz.

“For sure in the very top [of the big matches I’ve played],” the Italian said of the win. “I would say every match against him is very tough. We always show great respect, we both play great. When we play against each other, we try to stay on our limits.”

Sinner followed up the victory by beating Medvedev in the Beijing final to claim his fourth tour-level title of the season, equalling his personal-best tally from 2021.

Read more from our Best Of 2023 Rivalries series:
Djokovic vs. Sinner | Medvedev vs. Zverev | Djokovic vs. Alcaraz

The 2023 season was a transformational year on the ATP Tour. Here’s a look back at the record growth and progress delivered by ATP’s OneVision plan this season.

More than $50m in new money flowed to players in 2023, the largest increase ever. That included $22m growth in performance bonuses, $18.9m in prize money increases and a $9m increase in prize money awarded at ATP Challenger Tour level.

The number of players eligible for Performance Bonus increased from 12 to 150 this year. This includes a $20m 1000 Bonus, a brand new $1.3m 500 Bonus, and a new 50-50 profit sharing distribution of $12.2m.

Attendance at ATP Tour events topped 5 million in 2023, with 22 tournaments reporting record numbers.

Next season will see the introduction of Baseline, a game-changing compensation model that provides financial assurances to players: Guaranteed Base Earnings will allow them to plan their seasons and invest in their teams. Income Protection will support injured players during their recovery. Newcomer Investment will provide an up-front $200,000 payment for players who break into the Top 125 for the first time.

The number of players benefitting from the Player Pension fund will expand from 165 in 2023 to 300 in 2024, with the forecast contribution jumping from $18m to $25m.

Learn more about OneVision

When Carlos Alcaraz broke onto the scene, Novak Djokovic was already one of the greatest players in history. As much as the Spaniard respects the Serbian, he has brought an element of fearlessness to his matches with the longest-reigning World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

That has helped develop a captivating Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry between the sport’s two best players — a rivalry that blossomed in 2023 with four Lexus ATP Head2Head showdowns. ATPTour.com looks back at those memorable matches here.

2023 Roland Garros SF, Djokovic d. Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
There was a lot of anticipation ahead of a blockbuster semi-final between Djokovic and Alcaraz in Paris, especially after their first meeting, won by the Spaniard just more than a year earlier.

That match more than lived up to the hype for the first two sets, with the competitors one-upping each other with shotmaking and defending of the highest quality. Both of the opening sets finished in dramatic fashion, with break points coming and going for both men down the stretch — 15 combined across the first two sets.

But after a promising start, what began as a titanic tussle fizzled out in favour of Djokovic. Alcaraz struggled with cramp, and was unable to play to his true level after the second set.

“[It was because of] the tension of the match,” Alcaraz said. “I started the match really nervous. The tension of the first set, the second set, it was really an intense two sets, as well.
Really good rallies, tough rallies, drop shots, sprints, rallies. It’s a combination of a lot of things. But the main thing, it was the tension that I had all the two first sets.”

“First and foremost I have to say tough luck for Carlos,” Djokovic said. “Obviously at this level the last thing you want is cramp and physical problems at the late stages of a Grand Slam. So I feel for him, I feel sorry. I hope he can recover and he can come back very soon.”

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz during their 2023 Roland Garros semi-final” />
^{Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}

2023 Wimbledon F, Alcaraz d. Djokovic 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
The odds were stacked against the 20-year-old Alcaraz leading into the Wimbledon final. Djokovic had won seven titles at the event and carried momentum having claimed the first two major trophies of the 2023 season. Alcaraz was playing just the fourth grass-court event of his career.

There were also dents in the Spaniard’s armour. On a surface he had proven himself on, clay, Alcaraz allowed his nerves to get the best of him against Djokovic at Roland Garros. Would the same thing happen on Centre Court?

After a lopsided first set, the answer was a resounding “No”. Alcaraz showed not only impressive shotmaking, but a steely resolve to withstand the Serbian’s relentless onslaught.

Djokovic had set point for a 2-0 lead on return at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break, and later missed a swinging volley on break point early in the fifth set. Alcaraz broke in the ensuing game and twice held serve from behind — escaping a 15/30 hole at 3-2 and 0/15 when he closed out the match — to earn his his second major triumph.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” the Spaniard said. “Of course it’s great to win, but even if I had lost, I would be really proud of myself with this amazing run. Making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of our sport.

Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic” />

^{Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images}

2023 Western & Southern Open F, Djokovic d. Alcaraz 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4)
Djokovic was down and nearly out in more ways than one. After Alcaraz emerged victorious from their slugfest of a Wimbledon final, some wondered whether the final of the grass-court major was a sign of the passing of the torch.

The Serbian did nothing to quieten those comments early in the Cincinnati final. Alcaraz led by a set and a break and appeared poised for another big win against his chief rival. But the 36-year-old relied on his champion’s spirit to claw his way back into the match.

Djokovic saved championship point in the second-set tie-break and battled through a tense three hours and 49 minutes to triumph in one of the best matches in recent memory. The match was the longest best-of-three final in ATP Tour history (since 1990).

“Just overall, one of the toughest and most exciting matches I was ever part of,” said Djokovic, who ripped off his shirt in the celebrations. “These are the kinds of moments and matches that I continue to work for day in day out. I was never in doubt that I can deliver the ‘A’ game when it mattered the most and [I am] just thrilled.”

Nitto ATP Finals SF, Djokovic d. Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2
Fittingly, the two most prolific champions of the 2023 season met in the knockout rounds at the ATP Finals, where champions become champion. In their fourth meeting of the year, Djokovic scored an emphatic victory en route to his record-breaking seventh title at the season finale.

With new life in Turin after Jannik Sinner’s group-stage win put him through to the semis, Djokovic brought a new mentality into the semi-final. Eager to take the initiative against Alcaraz, the Serbian’s aggressive game handcuffed his opponent as he dominated the early stages of the match.

Alcaraz grew into the match in the second set and, after winning several all-action rallies with his supreme athleticism, he created a 15/40 opening for a chance to level the second set at 3-3. Instead, Djokovic buckled down and served his way out of trouble. The World No. 1 did not lose another game as he closed out the statement win.

“I approached the match with the right attitude, the right mentality, and I knew from the very first point it was going to be greatly intense,” Djokovic said. “He had break points right away, 15/40 in the first game. That’s Carlos. He always brings out his best in these kinds of matches and starts with a lot of high quality tennis and intensity. You’ve got to match that, try to weather the storm, and I did that.”