Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray join hands to lead over $1 million prize money worth non-tennis initiative
The two global icons will be part of the inaugural edition of the Hexagon Cup that's scheduled in Madrid in the first week of February.
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Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal (Credits: The Scottish Sun, Sportico)
Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray become the latest tennis professionals to venture into another racket sport. The duo has given their blessing and support to the Hexagon Cup. The event will be played in Madrid in the coming week.
The Hexagon Cup is a padel event where six franchise teams will compete. The round-robin qualification tournament will see three categories: men, women, and nextgen. A total prize pool of €1 million has been announced for the event, which has the backing of DMG Ventures.
Apart from Nadal and Murray, Polish football star and current FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski is also involved. Hollywood star Eva Longoria further increases the celebrity quotient. The event also involves business tycoons Carlos Lopez-Lay and Maria Esteve.
‘For the fans, for the players, for the game’ has been the tagline adopted by the tournament. The tournament will be hosted in the Madrid Arena with live music and other acts also scheduled during the sporting event.
The King of Clay isn’t the only person from the Nadal family involved in the tournament. His sister, Maribel, who also serves as the managing director of the Rafa Nadal Academy, is also an integral part of the proceedings.
Equal prize money for male and female players
The majority of the prize money will be split between the male and female categories. The NextGen has considerably less prize money as compared to the other two events. But irrespective of it, both male and female players will be paid equally.
| Team Name | Team Owner |
| Team Hexagon | Fans |
| AD/vantage Team | Andy Murray/AD Global Sports |
| Rafa Nadal Academy powered by Richard Mille | Rafa Nadal Academy |
| ElevenEleven Team USA | Eva Longoria |
| Team RL9 | Robert Lewandowski |
| Team Bella Puerto Rico | Carlos López-Lay and María Esteve |
The tournament intends to make it a global event with only the first edition planned in Madrid. The organizers remained focused on making the inaugural event a big success in order to attract fans.
Depending on the first edition, the decision to take the event globally will be considered. The initial vision does, however, remain to make it a global affair. The organizers remain focused on making the event a mass spectacle to attract more fans to the rising game.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)