{"id":11658,"date":"2024-12-17T03:08:10","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T03:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11658"},"modified":"2024-12-17T03:08:10","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T03:08:10","slug":"rafael-nadal-returns-to-atp-with-appearance-at-saudi-tournament-weeks-after-retiring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11658","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal returns to ATP with appearance at Saudi tournament weeks after retiring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rafael Nadal will be back at an ATP tournament for the first time since his emotional retirement.<\/h2>\n
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Rafael Nadal is set to make his first public appearance at a tennis tournament since retiring just weeks ago. The 22-time Grand Slam champion officially ended his career while representing Spain at the Davis Cup Finals in late November. Nadal will now be back on the ATP circuit as he plans to turn up at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Nadal has not been seen in the tennis world since his tearful retirement in Malaga four weeks ago. The 38-year-old became emotional as he addressed the crowd and his loved ones before watching a tribute video.<\/p>\n

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Since then, the former No. 1 has been keeping busy. Nadal entered a golf tournament at home in Mallorca and has been working on his Rafa Nadal Academy and charity foundation. But he will now return to a tennis event at the Next Gen Finals, a tournament for the top players aged 20 and under which kicks off on Wednesday. In a video on the Saudi Tennis Foundation\u2019s Instagram account, Nadal said: \u201cHello, it\u2019s Rafa here. Just remains one week for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMake sure you are ready to watch some of the best talents, special young talents, in the world. See you there!\u201d The Next Gen Finals has often been a breeding ground for future champions. Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas are among the past winners of the tournament. The likes of Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud have also competed over the years. The event was initially staged in Milan for five years, including players aged 21 and under. But it moved to Jeddah on a five-year deal in 2023, and the age limit was slashed by a year. Hamad Medjedovic lifted the trophy 12 months ago and became the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history at No. 110 in the world.<\/p>\n

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The Serbian star won\u2019t be back to defend his crown in Jeddah as he has since turned 21. But there is a stacked line-up, including world No. 20 Arthur Fils, who finished as the runner-up last year. Fils has been drawn in the Blue Group for the round-robin stage alongside Doha finalist Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien and Joao Fonseca. Top 50 star Alex Michelsen heads up the Red Group with Jerry Shang, Luca Van Assche and Nishesh Basavareddy.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise Nadal is planning to head to Jeddah to watch the action at the Next Gen Finals as the 92-time title winner signed up to become an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation back in January. He also played the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh in October, losing to Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic while Jannik Sinner lifted the trophy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rafael Nadal will be back at an ATP tournament for the first time since his emotional retirement. 0\u00a039\u00a02 minutes read Rafael Nadal is set to make his… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nRafael Nadal returns to ATP with appearance at Saudi tournament weeks after retiring - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11658\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafael Nadal returns to ATP with appearance at Saudi tournament weeks after retiring - 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