“Fool thousands into buying the tickets”- Rafael Nadal sparks online controversy as fuming tennis fans question ‘sham’ motives behind Australian Open participation

Another huge controversy has taken over the world of tennis. And this time it involves the Spanish maestro Rafael Nadal and the organizers of the Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal had been blowing up over the internet about his return to the court after almost a year. He made a return to tennis after a year on the sidelines due to multiple injuries concern and was completely away from the game.

At the Brisbane International, Nadal made his much-awaited return by playing a couple of matches. Unfortunately, he faced a massive defeat at the hands of Jordan Thompson.

Adding to the disappointment, Nadal got injured after the tiring match, cutting his comeback short. This saw him out of the Australian Open, but not before getting all the attention on him.

Due to his comeback, there was an increase in the ticket count, and more people bought tickets to watch the Spaniard play. As expected, now that he has withdrawn from the tournament, this triggered multiple reactions from the fans, who all thought that it was pre-planned by the Australian Open organizers and Nadal himself.

Makes you think he never intended to play the slam but was perfectly happy to fool thousands into buying the tickets.

Tweeted a fan on X.

How odd that Nadal scheduled the Saudi deal signing, interviews, promos & the accompanying photoshoots, smack during the AO. Makes you think he never intended to play the slam but was perfectly happy to fool thousands into buying the tickets.

— barry aruba (@BarryAruba) January 19, 2024

The friendship between Rafael Nadal and Craig Tiley adds to the fans’ accusations of fraud

The CEO of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley, and Rafael Nadal have been in contact over the past year,  with the CEO knowing most of the updates about Nadal. 

With immense confidence, Tiley believed that Nadal would return to tennis in time for the Australian Open, which triggered the rise in ticket sales. Furthermore, the former World No. 1 got an impressive deal with Saudi Arabia as its ambassador, which further elicited a plethora of reactions online.

With the new role, Nadal tries to spread the knowledge of sports among the young children of Saudi. Unfortunately, Nadal got injured and left Australia, but not without his deal and an increased economy for Australia. 

Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans have to say:

https://twitter.com/mnczuba/status/1748428005783802065

Of course the AO organisers promised Nadal a nice appearance fee in order to upsell tickets

— D0n’t un- (@obikeno01856859) January 20, 2024

Only in tennis. In every other sport and business, that would constitute fraud.

— barry aruba (@BarryAruba) January 20, 2024

The desire to force the idea of some kind of greatness is so deep that they keep erecting his statues while the poor git is still alive.

— barry aruba (@BarryAruba) January 19, 2024

Well Kia are a major sponsor, there is a weird looking statue of him near one of the show courts. I nearly threw up!

— ?? Dave ?? ? (@Hr31_Dave) January 19, 2024

?. Exactly. Who organizes all rollout of all this content if the idea was he would be busy playing in later stages of AO? He had no intention of playing the open.

— MG (@hcaulfield8148) January 19, 2024

While he did intend on playing, it was Tiley who actually emphasised/exaggerated his participation – He knows more BIG names will bring in more spectators (thus sell more tickets & receive more income)!

— Nelson Tsang (@Nelsonator9000) January 19, 2024

That would not be new, he has been doing that for years.

His fans keep buying tickets, though. ??‍♀️?

Many of us never believed that he would play.

— ? Yolita? (@Yolitatennis) January 19, 2024

Who got fooled into buying tickets? Where? I’m a Rafa fan n aware of his health situation n always said to myself, see how he goes in Brisbane n if he makes it in 2nd wk AO then we go n buy tickets.

Nadal is not ruled n doesn’t lead n schedule his life around AO. He moved on

— Mariabel ?? (@Maribeaut) January 19, 2024

Flew around the world to fool people ?

— NaomiOsaka’sPlaylist (@TomJoad2Night) January 20, 2024

As to many tennis enthusiasts out there, this was an elaborate plan by Australia and Nadal, and they trolled both of them for allegedly cheating on the viewers.

Nonetheless, the ticket count was definitely higher and very beneficial for the country. More fans visited the country to witness Nadal play, which increased the ticket count and economy. Now, with the success of the Open, more fans are buying tickets, making the tournament more successful. 

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