Nadal Aims To Drive Change LGBTQ+ Rights In Saudi Arabia Through His Academy

| by Zachary Wimer

Rafael Nadal was recently heavily criticized for becoming the tennis ambassador for Saudi Arabia, but he's hoping to change some things while he's there.

Nadal committed to promoting tennis in Saudi Arabia, a country that is often not looked at favorably because of some of their current and previous laws. However, the Spanish legend does hope to change some things by tying his world-famous brand to the country.

He committed to promoting the sport in the country by building an academy there and promoting Saudi Arabian involvement in tennis abroad. It's a deal that earned him heavy backlash from tennis fans around the world due to the country's poor track record on human rights.

His move was defended by some other players, which isn't surprising as most of them are quite excited about the country entering the tennis world, as it can bring better financial conditions for everyone involved.

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In a recent talk with Copa, Nadal was asked about LGBTQ+ players and his academy, to which he explained that his academy is all-inclusive. Still, he's unsure of how that might go with the country and its laws.

"In my Academy they won't have problems, in the country I don't know. The problem is that this happens but the reality is that I am going to try to prevent it from happening."

According to Nadal, things can't be change from one day to the other, but by being the ambassador, and having an academy in Saudi Arabia, he aims to improve things that need to be improved.

"Things cannot be changed from today to tomorrow, the objective is that this is not debated in six, eight or ten years and that I can contribute to ensuring that it is not talked about in a few years. If it doesn't happen, I'll be disappointed."

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