Rafa Nadal is determined to keep playing despite the injuries that have prevented him from performing at his usual level. The 38-year-old Spaniard, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, is on the entry list for the US Open. The tournament begins on 26 August.

Nadal has won the tournament four times, but has missed three of the last four editions due to his physical problems. However, he has a protected ninth place in the rankings, which will allow him to play at Flushing Meadows.

It was at Flushing Meadows that he injured his psoas muscle and this injury has caused him problems that have prevented him from shining.

The Spaniard returned to action last Tuesday, playing his first singles match since 27 May. He beat Leo Borg 6-3, 6-4 at the Nordea Open. It was fascinating to see Nadal take on the son of tennis legend Bjorn Borg. Leo Borg, 21, faced Nadal, 38, with his 66-year-old father watching from the sidelines.

Nadal had not played since losing to Alexander Zverev in the first round on the red clay of Paris, his favourite tournament and possibly his last. But it is far from clear that 2024 will be his last year. He wants to keep playing.

Nadal has only played the US Open once since winning his fourth crown on the hard courts of New York in 2019. That was in 2022 and he only reached the second round. This does not guarantee that Nadal will play in New York, as he also appeared on the Wimbledon lists and ultimately decided to withdraw to focus on Paris 2024.

Nadal is one of 14 players to have secured a place in the main draw with a protected ranking. Nadal's history with the US Open began in 2010, completing his career Grand Slam. He had already won the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. 

However, the Spaniard's quality went further, adding titles in 2013, 2017 and 2019. He reached the fourth round in 2022, but has only played in two Grand Slams since then, failing to get past the second round.

The men's and women's fields will be led by world number one Jannik Sinner, this year's Australian Open champion from Italy, and world number one Iga Swiatek. Swiatek won her third consecutive title at Roland Garros in June. They will not be missing the fourth Grand Slam of the season.

The defending champions, world number two Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff, will also be present.
All eyes will be on Carlos Alcaraz. The 2022 US Open champion has already won at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this season. 

Fate has put the Spaniard on course to equal his compatriot Rafa Nadal's feat of winning in France, London and New York in the same year. Nadal did it in 2010 and nobody has done it since.

On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open champion and runner-up at the 2023 US Open, will also be playing. She missed Wimbledon due to injury. Another player with a protected ranking will be American Reilly Opelka, who will be playing his first Grand Slam since 2022 due to injury.

Daniil Medvedev is a men's player and Sloane Stephens and Emma Raducanu are women's players. All three are former champions and will be competing in 2024. Among the former US Open champions who did not make the direct entry list are Bianca Andreescu, Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka in the women's singles and Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka in the men's singles.

All three women missed last year's US Open. Andreescu due to injury, Osaka and Kerber due to maternity leave, and all have exhausted their protected rankings for this year's majors. Osaka is sixth on the women's alternate list. Wawrinka is the seventh male alternate, Murray is the 26th and Thiem, who has said he plans to retire after 2024, is the 36th alternate. 

The US Open field will also include 16 wild cards, eight in each category. There will also be 16 men's and 16 women's qualifiers.