The Six Kings Slam will collect a stellar discipline in Riyadh between October 16 and 19. Rafael Nadal arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night time, getting ready for the penultimate event of his profession. The Spaniard is already linked to sports activities growth within the Kingdom, and the group in Riyadh could have one final probability to see him compete as an lively participant in a few days.
Again in January, Rafa launched into an thrilling new enterprise, turning into the ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation. This strategic collaboration aligns with Nadal’s dedication to nurturing the following era of younger athletes on this area after opening his academy in Kuwait.
Thus, the 22-time Main winner will play a pivotal half in Saudi Arabia’s Imaginative and prescient 2030 initiative to encourage elevated participation in tennis and different sports activities amongst girls and boys within the Kingdom. Rafa will journey to Saudi Arabia yearly to unveil his tennis complicated and oversee a junior tennis clinic in Riyadh.
This initiative strives to ship hands-on coaching and steering to aspiring younger athletes, boosting their growth inside tennis. Nadal and coaches from his tennis Academies will impart their information and inspiration to Saudi groups related to the Olympic & Paralympic Committees, contributing to the general development of the game within the desert nation.
Nadal will skip the quarter-final spherical on the Six Kings Slam and battle towards Carlos Alcaraz or Holger Rune within the semi-final. The 22-time Main champion will finish his profession on the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga between November 19-24, competing within the nationwide jersey twenty years after debuting.
The Spanish captain, Davis Ferrer, is raring to see Rafa play the singles towards the Netherlands, and the legend will give every thing to arrange and assist his nation chase the primary Davis Cup title since 2019. Nadal completed the 2022 season ranked 2nd behind Carlos Alcaraz after profitable two Main titles.
Rafael Nadal will compete on the Six KIngs Slam in Riyadh this week.
Nevertheless, he struggled within the second a part of the yr, shedding type and confidence forward of a career-threatening harm.
The veteran injured his left hip ultimately yr’s Australian Open, lacking the remainder of the season and present process surgical procedure. Wanting to terminate his profession on his phrases, Rafa embraced 19 singles matches this yr, reaching one minor closing however failing to recuperate his well-known sport.
Nadal fell to Novak Djokovic on the Olympic Video games and took a break to consider his subsequent strikes. The legend introduced his retirement a few days in the past, ending his profession after 23 years on the skilled circuit. Rafa accomplished probably the most prolonged break of his profession within the first week of 2024 in Brisbane, reaching the quarter-final.
The Spaniard blew three match factors towards Jordan Thompson and fell after three and a half hours, feeling the ache round his hip and lacking the Australian Open. Nadal suffered one other blow in February, injuring his belly muscle and lacking all of the motion earlier than Barcelona.
The king of clay scored 5 wins in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome, taking part in miles beneath his greatest and gathering darkish clouds forward of the Roland Garros.
The 14-time winner met world no. 4 Alexander Zverev within the first spherical and skilled a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 loss in three hours and 5 minutes. Rafa missed his possibilities within the second set on his beloved Court docket Philippe-Chatrier, notching his earliest defeat in Paris.
The Spaniard missed the grass swing and remained on clay, touring to Bastad for the primary time since profitable the title in 2005. The king of clay stopped the clock and defeated 4 rivals en path to his first ATP closing in over two years.
Nadal battled previous Mariano Navone in just below 4 hours and endured one other difficult duel to e-book a spot within the title conflict, turning into one of many oldest clay-court finalists within the Open period. Rafa misplaced steam and took solely a few video games towards Nuno Borges, ending runner-up and heading to Paris for his closing Olympic Video games.
Returning to his beloved Roland Garros, the Spaniard felt the ache in his proper thigh, lacking a few observe periods and hoping for the most effective forward of the matches.
Nadal defeated Marton Fucsovics within the opening spherical, going through his biggest rival, Novak Djokovic, within the second. The Serb was the favourite, and he proved that on Court docket Philippe-Chatrier following a 6-1, 6-4 triumph. Novak outplayed Rafa in each section within the opening 11 video games, forging a 6-1, 4-0 benefit and marching towards the highest.
Elevating his stage, Nadal pulled a double break again and cracked an unbelievable forehand winner within the eighth sport to lock the end result at 4-4 and enhance the drama. Nonetheless, Djokovic stayed composed and grabbed a break within the ninth sport for one more benefit.
Novak sealed the deal on his serve at 5-4, shifting into the third spherical and beating his nice rival for the thirty first time in 60 encounters. Rafa skipped the US Open and the Laver Cup earlier than saying his retirement. The gang will watch the Spanish warrior in Riyadh and Malaga earlier than he terminates his unbelievable tennis journey, giving every thing to our sport and crusing right into a well-deserved retirement.
رافائيل نادال وصل الرياض وجاهز للتحدي في #SixKingsSlam 🎾🔥
احجز تذكرتك الآن 🎟️https://t.co/vND8uMQ974#BigTime#RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/UON9QFQdL5 — TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) October 13, 2024