Carlos Alcaraz says there is no better person to promote tennis in Saudi Arabia than Rafael Nadal who has signed a deal with the country’s tennis federation.
Nadal has recently been appointed as an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF) and is set to open an academy in the country. Under the deal, the former world No.1 will head to the country multiple times every year and will help develop the junior circuit. In a recent press release, the tennis star said he wants to help the sport grow and sees ‘real potential’ in the country.
However, the move has been criticised by some who argue that Saudi Arabia is investing millions in sports to improve their image which has been tarnished by wrongdoing. Something that is commonly known as sportswashing. The Middle Eastern nation has come under fire over its human rights record, especially concerning its rules on women and LGBT people. Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, who is the Saudi Ambassador to America, recently defended the current state of women’s rights in her country following criticism from Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
Weighing in on the debate, world No.2 Alcaraz has publically backed Nadal’s decision and believes there are more positives than negatives. In recent months Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in holding tennis events and held their first ATP tournament last year, the Next Gen Finals.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve been criticising him. Well, Rafa has decided to be an ambassador, I personally don’t think it’s bad, he has signed up as a tennis ambassador.” Alcaraz told reporters in Argentina on Monday.
“It’s a country that is developing, what better than Rafa getting in there to expand the world of tennis to places where it was never played before. We players are trying to attract more people to watch tennis and there is no better person than Rafa to do that.”
Alcaraz, who is the reigning Wimbledon champion, has signed up to play in a multi-million dollar exhibition in Saudi Arabia later this year. The 6 Kings event is set to take place in October with the participants being reportedly paid an appearance fee of $1.5M and the winner could earn up to $6M. Nadal and Novak Djokovic will also play in the event which is taking place between two Masters 1000 tournaments.
“It’s good for tennis that there are more venues, that the countries where we go and where we play are opening up,” said Alcaraz.
“Arabia is a country that is evolving very fast in all senses, in the world of sport there are a lot of events there. Football, now a lot of tennis. It’s good for sport in general. I don’t know how far we’ll go, but I’m sure it will be evolving.”
Alcaraz returns to action this week at the Argentina Open in what will be his first tournament since the Australian Open. He will be aiming to win his 13th Tour title and begin his campaign against either Juan Pablo Varillas or Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
