Tennis legend Rafael Nadal announced Friday that he will return to competitive tennis, ending his year-long absence because of back and hip problems.

“After a year away from competition, it’s time to come back,” Nadal, 37, said in a video posted to social media. I will be in Brisbane the first week of January. I’ll see you there.”

Nadal last played in the 2023 Australian Open, where he bowed out to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round in a match where he needed constant treatment on his hip. In June, after Nadal missed the French Open he’s won a record 14 times, the 22-time Grand Slam champion announced that he had surgery on a tendon that stretches from his lower back to the top of his femur, as well as on his left hip labrum, in an attempt to return to competitive tennis for a farewell tour in 2024.

Nadal’s absence sent him out of the ATP top 10 for the first time since 2005 and then the ATP top 100 for the first time since 2003. He’s currently ranked 663rd in the world.

Nadal said in May that 2024 likely would be his final season. In a September interview, he said he understood the realities of his situation.

“My hope is to play again, to be competitive again,” Nadal said. “The hope is not returning and winning at Roland Garros again, or in Australia, let’s get that straight. I’m aware that at this point of my life, that is very far off. I’m not saying it’s impossible, I’ve said it thousands of times, because things in sport change very quickly.”

The Brisbane International, a warm-up for the Australian Open, actually begins Dec. 30 (United States time), and the Australian Open begins Jan. 14. Nadal has won the season’s first Grand Slam twice, most recently in 2022, and his 22 men’s Grand Slam singles titles are second all-time to Novak Djokovic’s 24.