Former world number one Novak Djokovic and Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka will return from lengthy injury breaks at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) exhibition event in Abu Dhabi in December.
After a poor run of form this year Djokovic retired from his Wimbledon quarter-final against Czech Tomas Berdych in July and the 30-year-old ended his season shortly afterwards due to a right elbow injury.
“The line-up is very strong as always and it will be the perfect way to make my comeback and begin the season. Abu Dhabi is an amazing place and this is going to be a great event for all of the fans,” Djokovic told the tournament website.
World number one Rafa Nadal, Austrian Dominic Thiem, Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta and Canadian Milos Raonic will also compete in the tournament.
The Serb has won the event on three occasions and he will compete for the first time since retiring from his Wimbledon quarter-final against Tomas Berdych with an elbow problem.
‘My recovery is going well and I can’t wait to be back on court. I’m working hard together with my team and looking forward to being back.’ The event runs from 28-30 December, with the players competing across the weekend. The tournament comes barely two weeks before the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, which begins on January 15 in Melbourne.
