Rafael Nadal named Saudi Tennis Federation ambassador
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Rafael Nadal expects 2024 to be his final season on the professional tour.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
MELBOURNE – Rafael Nadal believes there is real potential to grow the sport of tennis in Saudi Arabia, after the 22-time Grand Slam champion was named as an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation.
The role will see the former world No. 1 spend time each year in the desert kingdom to help train children and widen interest in the game, with plans also in the pipeline for a training academy, the Saudi federation said.
“Everywhere you look in Saudi Arabia, you can see growth and progress and I’m excited to be part of that,” Nadal, who pulled out of the ongoing Australian Open with a muscle injury, said in a statement.
The Spaniard, who recently visited a junior tennis clinic in Riyadh, struggled with a hip problem
“I continue to play tennis as I love the game,” he added. “But beyond playing I want to help the sport grow far and wide across the world and in Saudi there is real potential.”
The men's ATP Tour said last August that its Next Gen Finals for Under-21 players would be held in Jeddah from 2023 to 2027, marking its first official tournament in the Gulf state following previous exhibition events.
The five-year deal “signals the country’s intent to make tennis a major part of its international calendar and is the first of many likely professional tennis tournaments to be held in the country”, the Saudi federation said.
Saudi Arabia hosted high-profile exhibition matches in 2023, with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic playing Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka taking on Ons Jabeur.
There has also been frequent speculation that the women’s tour will move its season-ending WTA Finals to Saudi Arabia, though WTA chairman Steve Simon has said the patriarchal country presented “big issues” as a host for women’s tour events.
Women’s world No. 1 Iga Swiatek also said it was difficult to judge whether it would be a positive move for the women’s tour to head to the Gulf country, adding that things were “not easy” for women in the region.
“Obviously these countries also want to change and improve politically and sociologically,” she said, adding that federations and governing bodies should bear the brunt of any negative public reaction if tournaments are staged there.
“If there is some negative backlash, they should take responsibility,” she added. “It’s hard to straightforwardly go one way and say anything.
“I didn’t even know about Rafa’s decision. Obviously men’s sport is already there in Saudi. I don’t know if it’s a good decision or not.” AFP, REUTERS
