Nadal to return in December with World Tennis Championships exhibition event

Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal is set to make his return on the tour by playing at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships exhibition event in Abu Dhabi at the end of December.

The hard hitting baseliner’s 2016 season was plagued by physical problems and he cut his campaign short in October to recover fully to target a return to Grand Slam glory in 2017. 

"Excited to announce my first tournament back will be inAbu Dhabi at the #MubadalaWorldTennisChampionship inDecember," the Spaniard posted on his Twitter account onMonday.     

Nadal, a three-time winner of the event, will be joined by new world number one Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, David Goffin and Thomas Berdych in the six-man even from December 29-31.