 "Rafael Nadal at the NextGen ATP Finals in Jeddah shortly after his emotional farewell at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain. Reuters")
Tennis icon Rafael Nadal has had a legendary career that was largely free of controversy, but has faced a barrage of criticism for accepting an offer from Saudi Arabia earlier this year to become their tennis ambassador and help promote the sport in the Middle East. Nadal, who had brought the curtains down on his glittering career in the Davis Cup Finals just last month, had taken up the role of ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation in January this year in a lucrative deal that was worth a whopping $750 million.
Saudi Arabia has had a long history of human rights violations and has also been criticised for its treatment of women and for its stance towards LGBTQ+ relationships.
The oil-rich kingdom has also been accused of trying to cover up its human rights record by investing heavily across a wide variety of sports – including tennis, in which the decision to host the WTA Finals in Riyadh has been met with opposition from legends of the game such as Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
Speaking to The National, the 22-time Grand Slam champion said he was expecting criticism for his decision, but in the end his objective was to “improve life” and “promote sport” in Saudi Arabia.
“So I accept the critics, especially I respect the critics who criticise things while respecting other people. When they don’t respect, it’s a different story.
“But at the end of the day, I know when I make the decision that’s [criticism] going to be happening.
“But in some way I don’t care that much if I really achieve the goal that I want to achieve here. In the end it’s to improve the life, promoting sport in this country,” added the 14-time French Open champion, which earned him the moniker ‘King of Clay’.
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Nadal added that through the Saudi deal, he wanted to be remembered as someone who made a difference when it came to helping youngsters hone their skills with a racquet.
“For me, it’s an opportunity, first of all, to know a different culture. Second, to promote our sport in a region that is really growing in that regard.
“I want to be remembered here as a person that is here to help the new generations to practice and play more and more tennis,” Nadal added.
Besides taking up the ambassadorial role, Nadal had also participated in the 6 Kings Slam that took place in Riyadh in October and had also featured Novak Djokovic , Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
And after bidding an emotional goodbye in the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, where home favourites Spain lost to Netherlands 2-1 in the quarter-finals, Nadal flew to Jeddah where he attended the NextGen ATP Finals.