RAFAEL Nadal will return from a wrist injury to play an exhibition in late December in United Arab Emirates.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion said on Monday on his Facebook page he will compete in the six-player, $250,000 Mubadala World Tennis Championship. The event is not connected to the ATP Tour and will be held in Abu Dhabi from Dec. 29-31.
Top-ranked Andy Murray is also scheduled to play, as is fourth-ranked Milos Raonic. Nadal beat Raonic in the previous final.
Last month, Nadal said he was cutting short his 2016 season to fully recover from an injured left wrist that sidelined him for more than two months this season.
The 30-year-old Spaniard recently missed a tournament in Basel, Switzerland, and last week's Paris Masters. He also will miss the season-ending ATP Finals that begin Sunday in London.
Nadal said he intensified his recovery to play in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August, causing wrist pain in every tournament after that. He won the doubles gold medal in Rio. He lost in the singles semifinals and the third-place match.
Earlier in the year, the injury forced Nadal to withdraw from the French Open before the third round and skip Wimbledon altogether.
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