Nadal and Osaka to fine-tune for Open in Melbourne, Barty to headline Adelaide International

Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka will make their much-awaited tour returns at Melbourne Park in January, with the global superstars locked in for Australian Open warm-up events.

Four-time major winner Osaka as well as Nadal, who is equal first on the grand slam titles list with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (20 each), were scarcely seen on court in the second half of this year.

In Nadal’s case, the 35-year-old has played in only one event since Roland Garros six months ago when the world No.6 went down to Djokovic in a classic semi-final encounter.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka pictured during the 2021 US Open. Credit: Getty Images

Defending Australian Open champion Osaka has had a turbulent season, and was last seen at the US Open when she succumbed to eventual finalist Leylah Fernandez in the third round before tearfully revealing she needed another break from the sport.

The 24-year-old was one of the faces of the Tokyo Olympics, where she lit the cauldron. Before that, Osaka pulled out of Roland Garros before her second round match to take a mental health break, saying she would not participate in media conferences in Paris, which sparked a dispute with organisers.

The two-time winner in Melbourne and dual US Open champion also skipped Wimbledon.

Osaka and Nadal - who will also feature in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi this month - have been named for WTA 250 and ATP 250 events at Melbourne Park, from January 4.

Rafael Nadal pictured on day two of the Australian Open this year. Credit: Eddie Jim

Women’s world No.1 and Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty will look to fine-tune her Open preparations at the Adelaide International in early January, a WTA 500 event that has attracted nine of the world’s top 10 players.

Barty was the inaugural champion in Adelaide. The competition, starting on January 2, is sure to be fierce, with three former world No.1s, including Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova and Victoria Azarenka, locked in. The field boasts players who have won 12 major titles between them.

Former French top 10 player Gael Monfils will headline a men’s event in Adelaide, alongside 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic and Australia’s John Millman.

Ashleigh Barty will head to Adelaide before the Australian Open. Credit: Getty Images

Nadal’s Australian Open preparation will differ to that of Djokovic, the world No.1 named to headline Serbia’s team at the ATP Cup men’s teams event in Sydney.

But whether Djokovic comes to Australia at all is still a matter of conjecture. Vaccination for COVID-19 is mandatory at events Down Under this summer. Djokovic has repeatedly refused to specify his vaccination status, on privacy grounds.

Officials rejected a media report this week that said Djokovic would seek a medical exemption from vaccination with the support of Tennis Australia.

The vaccination saga took another twist on Thursday when Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews called on Tennis Australia to set up a review process to scrutinise any medical exemptions Australian health officials granted to players coming to Australia.

“I’m briefed that Tennis Australia are looking very, very closely [at] whether they might put in place a review mechanism with, for instance, a panel of medical experts to review any exemptions that were granted. And I fully support that,” Andrews said.

“If Tennis Australia go down the review process to check that all exemptions – and I won’t comment on any individual – that any exemptions were appropriate, then I think that would be a very good step.”