With the memory still fresh of the announcement of his sabbatical year, when the fan was still overcome with melancholy for the idol who had fallen in combat, the announcement that confused everything came last January. Rafa Nadal had signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia, specifically with the Saudi Tennis Federation. To be your ambassador. The agreement also included a commitment to open a new headquarters for the academy that bears his name, which already has the globe dotted with centers. From Mallorca to the United States or Kuwait. If the first extension of that Mallorcan school was located in Anantapur (in the south of India, very close to the Vicente Ferrer Foundation), with all the positive connotations that that had; the last one (that is known) will be built on Saudi land. With all the negative connotations that entails.
At a time when the tennis player – affected by an injury to the iliac psoas – had put a full stop in his sporting career and was trying to recover to enjoy his last dance, we were shaken by the least welcome decision of his career. Nadal explained that he wanted to “help the growth of the sport and inspire a new generation of tennis players in Arabia”, also “encourage talent”.
And the news became indigestible.
Nadal had always demanded so much of himself, on the court and off it, that public opinion demanded more from him than from anyone else. Some of the League’s idols had long been seduced by petrodollars, such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Benzema; And since then, society has witnessed with exoticism and amazement the exodus of also young footballers. Furthermore, Spain had digested Jon Rahm’s departure to the Saudi golf league without him facing fierce criticism. It was assumed, on the contrary, that almost any citizen in similar conditions would have committed the same sin. But with Nadal the measuring stick was not the same.
There was a phrase in that advertisement that helped this. “Everywhere you look in Saudi Arabia you can see growth and progress. And I’m excited to be a part of that,” he said. And since he did not add more context to his speech, the Spanish fan had a bad taste in his mouth. In addition to being a country of “progress”, obvious in its skyline (Saudi Arabia is the largest oil exporter in the world), it is also a country run by a royal oligarchy that mistreats its fellow citizens, especially women and homosexuals, which violates human rights and where only the penalty of death persists. death, but also public executions. According to the latest data published by Amnesty International in 2023, Saudi Arabia executed 196 people in 2022, the highest annual number of executions recorded in the country in the last 30 years.
So Nadal’s subsequent statements in an interview in La Sexta did not calm the waters either. “Arabia is a country that has opened up to the world,” he defended. With its rules, of course. Not tolerable for a democratic society. However, Nadal accepted “the challenge,” he said, because “sport has the power to change lives.” He appealed to their “coherence” and their “values.” And he promised to take a portrait if he didn’t succeed. Precisely, next week, Nadal visits Riyadh to participate in an exhibition. But you won’t be alone. He will be accompanied, among others, by Carlos Alcaraz and the Serbian Novak Djokovic. This event will award, according to the organizers, one and a half million dollars to each participant (1.3 euros) and six (5.4) to the winner.
In the aforementioned interview, Nadal also ended up being portrayed when showing his position regarding feminism. To begin with, he claimed not to be hypocritical when he explained that he is in favor of equal opportunities, but not equal pay. He also resorted to the hackneyed argument to shake off the sexist label – “I have a mother, a sister…” –, while clarifying: “Equality is taken to extremes…”.
Able to bow down to the power, projection and impact of Serena Williams, Nadal added many nuances to the feminist discourse, which earned him the ugliness of society. Among those who criticize the lack of depth of his speech on more important issues, there are many fans of Nadal. Many who will continue to be moved when they remember his resilience on the track, his bites of countless trophies or the land of Paris in his white socks. Despite the stain on his resume as a perfect athlete. Because that shared happiness is not easily erased.
