One of Rafael Nadal’s jobs post-retirement is to promote tennis in Saudi Arabia where he recently visited for the Next Gen ATP Finals.
Rafael Nadal (Via Imago)
Rafael Nadal was criticized by a section of the tennis world when it was announced that he would be the ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation. Nadal however has several reasons to join the STF.
The King of Clay was in Jeddah for the first time (his third visit to the country) for the Next Gen ATP Finals. He was in Riyadh in October for the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition event with a prize money of $6 million. Nadal admitted that he is ‘lucky’ that through tennis, he is learning a lot about Saudi culture.
Whenever tennis is linked to Saudi Arabia, criticism from all corners comes in due to the country’s human rights record. Nadal ‘accepted’ the criticism and respected the views of those critics who gave their opinions while ‘respecting other people’.
His main goal as the ambassador is to improve life and help more kids to choose tennis as a career. He sees Saudi Arabia as an opportunity to create ‘something beautiful’ for the people after his experience playing in other Middle-East countries.
Rafael Nadal retired at the Davis Cup in Malaga in November this year. Although this time Spain failed to lift the title, Nadal was a part of the team that won five titles (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2019).
Apart from the Davis Cup, he has won 22 Grand Slam titles, gold medals in the Olympics, and many ATP 500 and ATP 1000 tournaments. He doesn’t have just one title in his trophy cabinet- the ATP Finals trophy.
Nadal has reached the summit clash of the ATP Finals twice. In 2010, he lost to Roger Federer, while in 2013, Novak Djokovic defeated him.
