“I made a mistake,” Rafael Nadal defends his decision as Saudi tennis ambassador, bluntly marking the shortcomings and hurdles thus far

Rafael Nadal opened up about collaboration with Saudi Arabia after facing immense backlash from fans.

“I made a mistake,” Rafael Nadal defends his decision as Saudi tennis ambassador, bluntly marking the shortcomings and hurdles thus far

Rafael Nadal (Via screengrab/X)

The threat of a Saudi Arabia takeover has been looming over the sporting world. After their unmissable efforts in other sports, they have tried to get involved in tennis. Saudi has also started making inroads with tennis by naming Rafael Nadal as their brand ambassador.

However, Nadal’s association with the country wasn’t taken well by the fans. He faced much backlash after accepting the Saudi deal, and people even accused him of sports washing. Defending his decision as Saudi tennis ambassador, the Spaniard opened up in an interview via Cadenaser.

Talking about the country’s potential, Nadal also stated that as the country is opening to the world, people are starting to believe that they are buying things off, including him. He understood the thoughts of many, but defended his position as an ambassador and spoke in favor of the country. 

At the same time, Nadal also believed that the country was surely not using him to wash off any images. He also added that as a late-blooming country, there are a lot of improvements to be made by the Gulf nations, and is confident in them happening in the next 10-15 years, or he is ready to publicly apologize for his mistake. 

If the country does not achieve the evolution that I think it has to follow in the next 10-15 years, I will tell you that I was completely wrong. I think I'm going to have the freedom to work with the values that I think I have to work with and that are the right ones. If it doesn't happen, I'll tell you that I made a mistake.
Rafael Nadal via Cadenaser

Rafael Nadal defends his position as well as Saudi Arabia he is now associated with

Spanish pro-Rafael Nadal has been one of the most loved players, who has not stirred much controversy up until he decided to accept a deal by Saudi Arabia to become their Ambassador for tennis. 

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Via ATP)

With this decision came much backlash from the fans, who were unhappy with the Spaniard’s decision. Defending his position as an Ambassador, Nadal broke the silence on the matter. 

If the country does not achieve the evolution that I think it has to follow in the next 10-15 years, I will tell you that I was completely wrong.

As the country was opening to the world, he admitted that it was logical of people to think that he was sold, but goes on to say that the country is yet to make some changes and hopes that they will in the years to come. If not, then the Spaniard is ready to apologize for his wrong choices. 

Coming to the aid of Nadal were some tennis players like Carlos Alcaraz, who believed that the Spaniard’s presence would only boost the growth of tennis in Saudi. The future is unpredictable, but Nadal is sure to work with Saudi for the betterment of the world. 

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