Emma Raducanu will be in good company in Abu Dhabi in December (16-18) with the presence of Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem. The Mubadala World Tennis Championship will have the participation of many top players this year. After securing the presence of Emma Raducanu and Belinda Bencic, the local fans will have the opportunity to see action the likes of Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Denis Shapovalov, and Casper Ruud.
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal has recently confirmed that he is targeting his comeback on the occasion of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Spanish legend had to take some time off to recover from a nasty foot injury
This is what he said during a recent event in Paris:
“My plan is to play Abu Dhabi in December and a tournament before playing the Australian Open. It is my goal, and we are working hard to make it that way.
I don’t know exactly when I’ll be back, but I can say that my goal is to try to come back to Abu Dhabi in December, and then, of course, for the start of the new season in January.”
The injury in my foot still needs to get a little better, but I’m already training almost an hour and a half a day so that’s positive.”
Dominic Thiem
The Austrian champion he is out of the competitions seems he got injured to his wrist in Mallorca last summer. The good news is that Dominic didn’t need any surgery and he is not back in training.
“I am very happy to announce that my recovery is going well. The MRI I did today showed that my wrist injury has improved significantly. A couple of weeks ago I started playing with soft balls and was able to switch to normal tennis balls during yesterday’s practice session…the objective [is] to return to the Tour for the 2022 Australian Open.” he posted on Social Media.
Rafael Nadal in 2021
Now ranked no.5, Rafael played his last match on the 5th of August when he lost to world no.33 Harris Lloyd 6-4 1-6 6-4 in the 3rd round in Washington (draw).
At present, during this year Nadal owns an overall 24-5 record. Nadal conquered 2 titles in 2021 in Barcelona and in Rome.
Dominic Thiem in 2021
Currently ranked no.12, the Austrian played his last match on the 22nd of June when he had to retire when playing against world no.59 Adrian Mannarino in the 2nd round and the scoreline was 2-5 .
At present, during this year Thiem achieved a 9-9 record. Dominic Thiem’s best achievement of the year was getting to the semifinal in Madrid.
Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem played each other 15 times. Their current head to head is 9-6 for Nadal. Previously, the last time when they squared off, Dominic Thiem won 7-6(7) 7-6(4) in the round robin in London (Nitto ATP Finals) in November 2020.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
Emma Raducanu in 2021
Now the world no.21 (career-high), Raducanu played her last match on the 29th of October when she lost to world no.50 Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-1 in the quarter in Cluj (draw).
This season the Brit has a 25-8 win-loss record. Raducanu clinched 1 title at the U.S. Open. The Brit was the runner-up in the Chicago.
