Madrid, Dec 2 (IANS): Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal is all set to return to action in the new year after a year-long absence from the circuit because of back and hip problems.

Nadal, 37, has announced that he will be back in action in Brisbane, Australia in the first week of January, hoping to add more titles to the 22 Grand Slam crowns he has won so far and catch up with record-holder Novak Djokovic (24).

“After a year away from competition, it’s time to come back,” Nadal said in a video posted on social media. "I will be in Brisbane the first week of January. I’ll see you there.”

Nadal had last played in the 2023 Australian Open in Melbourne, bowing out to Mackenzie McDonald in a second-round match in which the Spaniard sought treatment many times.

In June, Nadal missed the French Open, which he has won a record 14 times, and underwent surgery on a tendon that stretches from his lower back to the top of his femur, as well as on his left hip labrum.

The Spanish tennis legend is expecting to return to competitive tennis for a farewell tour in 2024.