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Tennis Channel Will Air Rafael Nadal’s Return on Friday

By Witherspoon
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Updated: December 15, 2021

Rafael Nadal returns to action on Friday in Abu Dhabi. EPA-EFE/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON

Tennis Channel will show live coverage of Rafael Nadal’s first match in four months this Friday, December 17, expected to begin at or after 10 a.m. Eastern time.

One of the most accomplished champions in the sport’s history – and one of three players tied for a record 20 men’s major singles titles – Nadal will compete in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, set for December 16-18. He has not played since injuring his foot in early August.

Nadal is one of only two men to win singles titles at the Olympics and all four of the sport’s major tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Often referred to as the greatest clay-court player of all time, he has won that surface’s most prestigious event – the French Open – a record 13 times. He is also an 11-time winner in Monte-Carlo and 10-time winner in Rome, which host two of the sport’s other top-level clay-court events. He has a record 22 wins against World No. 1 players during his career and was himself ranked at the top of men’s singles for 209 weeks.

He has won the Mubadala World Tennis Championship five times, including the most recent competition in 2019. On Friday Nadal will play the winner of Thursday’s match between 2019 US Open champion Dominic Thiem and three-time major winner Andy Murray.