Nadal happy to overcome fear after surgery in comeback match

Rafael Nadal was elated to return to professional tennis on Tuesday after nearly a year on the sidelines but the Spaniard said recovering his confidence and natural movements on the court would take time.

Nadal marked his singles comeback after hip surgery with a 7-5 6-1 victory over Austrian former world number three Dominic Thiem in the Brisbane International first round, with the 22-times major winner showing he was far from done with the sport.

The 37-year-old's last match was at the Australian Open in January 2023 and he sat out the rest of the season after undergoing hip surgery a few months later.

"For me the main thing is stay healthy. I really think that I didn't forget how to play tennis. The only thing that's going to be difficult to make it in a professional match and in a very high level of tennis," Nadal told reporters.

"You need to recover the confidence and the movements, that takes time ... After the surgery, you feel scared sometimes to do a kind of movement and you need to recover the speed and reading the ball and (doing) things in an automatic way.

"You need hours on court, hours in a practice session, but at the same time hours in professional matches. I (didn't) know what could happen today. It's a day to be happy ... I am excited to have the chance to play another time."

Thiem, 30, has also been on the comeback trail after missing several months in 2021 and 2022 due to a wrist injury.

The former US Open champion is now ranked 98th in the world but Nadal said he could easily climb the rankings judging by the way he played.

• 2-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova announces pregnancy