Boris Becker identifies condition under which he only sees Rafael Nadal returning

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Boris Becker thinks Rafael Nadal will return to tennis only if he feels he has a chance to compete at the highest level and win more big titles. Nadal, who turned 37 in June, sustained an injury to his psoas muscle at the Australian Open and he hasn't played since.

After failing to recover in time for the French Open in late May, Nadal announced his plan was to play his final season in 2024. In early June, Nadal surgically addressed his psoas injury and he said the estimated recovery time was five months.

For now, it's clear that Nadal's big goal for 2024 will be to be fully healthy and ready for the French Open and Paris Olympics.

Becker: I don't see Nadal coming back to play the first or second round

“Nadal is a role model for everyone.

Millions of fans around the world want to see him back on the tennis court and not in the press conference, where he declares that he may not be able to play again. I also believe that he would never come back if he doesn't see a chance for himself.

So, he's not coming back to play the first or second round, but to win tournaments. His ultimate goal will always be Paris, will possibly be the [2024] Olympics in Paris, which will be played on clay at Roland Garros. But for that he needs the legendary match practice, and he can only get that at tournaments.

So it's hard to get started. He'll get a bit of a kicking at first, but then we'll go into February - if he stays healthy - and March and April, when it's played on clay. Then he'll have had his ten, 15 matches - and I would never bet against Rafael Nadal on clay," Becker said on Eurosport Germany's podcast Das Gelbe vom Ball.