Spain’s Rafael Nadal will miss the Australian Open after sustaining a hip injury while playing at the Brisbane International.

The 37-year-old Nadal made his much-anticipated return this past week after almost a year out with injury.  He won his first two matches in Brisbane in straight sets. But he was injured in his quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson on Friday.

Nadal has a torn hip muscle, but it’s not in the same area as his previous long-term injury.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who had not played a singles match for 349 days prior to his opening win over Dominic Thiem, said the result was “good news” but added he was “not ready to compete at the maximum level.”

Nadal is a two-time winner of the Australian Open, tennis’s first leg of the grand slam. He was champion in 2009 and again in 2022.

Nadal had previously stated he was strongly leaning towards 2024 being his final year on the ATP Tour.