Rafael Nadal To Play In An Exhibition Match In Kazakhstan

Rafael Nadal of Spain holds the trophy during the ceremony after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their men's singles final match to win the French Open Tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 8, 2014. — #2 Rafael Nadal Total earnings: $44.5 million Prize money: $14.5 million Endorsements: $30 million REUTERS

Rafael Nadal will reportedly play in a two-day exhibition match in Kazakhstan. It will be the first time that Nadal will visit the Central Asian nation.

The Kazakhstan Tennis Federeration (KTF) reported that Nadal will be in Kazakhstan from Sept. 24 to Sept. 25. He will play against France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the National Tennis Centre in Astana. In addition to the exhibition matches, Nadal and Tsonga will also hold a master class for promising young Kazakhstani athletes of Academy Team Kazakhstan. Tennis fans from Nazarbayev University and the International School of Heyliberi will also have the chance to get up close and personal with Nadal and Tsonga in an autograph session.

Bulat Utemuratov, the president of KTF, said that the main objective of bring two of the world's greatest tennis players is to promote the sport in their country. "This visit is an invaluable opportunity for our young tennis players and the younger generation of tennis professionals to see the living legends, get inspiration, and to learn from these legendary masters," Mr. Utemuratov said.

Nadal has reportedly expressed his desire to visit Kazakhstan beforehand, but he just wasn't able to do so because of his tight schedule.

Nadal has not played since his Round 16 exit against Australian Nick Kyrgios at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. His wrist injury has further prevented him from playing. He recently pulled out of the tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati as well as the Grand Slam tournament 2014 US Open.

Nadal is still expected to compete in the Beijing tournament on Sept. 29. He targets to return on tour as soon as his wrist injury has fully recovered. Despite his absence, Nadal's fans get to be updated with his recover as he continues to post pictures of him while training and how he is recuperating well on his Facebook page. He also took to the social media website to thank his fans who have been wishing him well and anticipating his comeback.

"Thank you very much for all your messages of support, they help me work every day to be back as soon as possible," Nadal wrote. "I'm continuing with my recovery and I hope to be back competing soon, thank you."