Rafael Nadal Addresses Criticism Of His Role As Saudi Tennis Ambassador

Thursday, 26 December 2024 at 23:00

byErik Virostko

Rafael Nadal wasn't a controversial tennis player during his playing days, but at the end of his career, he made a move that received plenty of backlash.

As one of the most successful tennis players of all time, Nadal's impact is incredible. He's one of the most well-known athletes in the world, which was palpable during this year's Olympics when a selfie with him was in high demand in the Olympic Village.

As someone with such an incredible global reach, Nadal could serve as an ambassador for any brand, organization, or even a country. In January 2024, Nadal tied his name to Saudi Arabia when he became an ambassador for the country's tennis federation.

It was a move that gathered plenty of negative reactions, as Saudi Arabia is still criticized for their human rights record, and many have the country's name tied to a negative connotation.

Nadal recently fulfiled his ambassadorial role when he attended the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, and during his time in Saudi Arabia, he spoke to The National, explaining his decision, seen as controversial by many.

"We are in a free world and people can talk about anything. But in some way, it’s important that the people, when they talk about things, it’s important that the people have the chances to visit the places, to know the real thing of the places."

According to Nadal, thanks to being able to travel the world and get to know many different cultures, he was able to see life in Saudi Arabia first-hand, based on which he was able to make his decision.

"I am lucky, that because of my sport, I have been able to know all different cultures, so probably I have a different vision about the world in general than the people who don’t have the luck to visit all these places around the world."

"And because of that, because I saw all the realities in the world I think I was able to see things with a different perspective. 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 I really, in some way, at the end of the day, I know when I make the decision that’s 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."

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However, Nadal is also open to being wrong. In a few years, he will be able to assess whether his move made a difference or not, and if it doesn't, he will be ready to admit that he was wrong.

"If I am able with what I am doing and what I’m going to do here, improve and bring more kids to the world of tennis and to the world of sport, that’s my goal and that’s my motivation. And then if I’m not able to make that happen, then of course I will say to myself, OK, I got criticised and maybe they were right."

"But if I achieve my goal, maybe they’re going to be wrong and I’m going to achieve the goal and what I set out to do by being here. So, I don’t care that much. I’m just focused on doing things the best way possible, stay focused on the journey, and then let’s see."

"From experience, I see all these places, like Dubai, that I was there a long time ago, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, and I see here the opportunity to create something beautiful for the people, and I’m excited about it."