Just a few days ago Rafa Nadal announced his retirement from tennis. “I am going to retire from professional tennis. The truth is that they have been difficult years, especially the last two. I don’t think I can play without limitations, which led me to make this decision ” explained the winner of 22 tennis Grand Slam titles in a video posted on their social networks.
It was the end of a dream career The final stage of the Davis Cup will be the final eventwhich will be held in Malaga from November 19 to 24.
However, to see Nadal in action again we don’t have to wait that long. The Balearic Islands He arrived this Sunday in Riyadh, where he was received in style before taking part in the ‘Six Kings Slam’, an exhibition tournament that will be completed by Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune and will award 5.4 million euros to the winner.
The format of the competition includes two quarterfinal matches, on Wednesday 16th, where Jannik Sinner will face Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz will face Holger Rune.
Whoever wins the first of these matches will face Novak Djokovic (4) in the semifinals a day later and whoever wins the second will face Rafa Nadal for a place in the final. On Friday the 18th there will be a rest day and on Saturday the 19th the match for third place and the match for the title will be played.
The expectation of this tournament, which is part of the Riyadh Season, is maximum given to penultimate chance to see one of the greatest players in history in action.
The same will happen in Malaga, Nadal’s last event as an active professional. Because I know that I will leave him in Davis Cup ticket prices have increased and now range from 1,500 to 34,500 euros.
There he will form a team with Roberto Bautista, Pablo Carreño, Marcel Granollers and Carlos Alcaraz, with whom he already formed a doubles pair in the previous Paris Games.
It is in Riyadh itself that the last expected confrontation between the two may take place.. If the Murcian defeats Rune, he will face Nadal in what will be their fifth meeting. The first two times they met they fell to the Balearic Islands side, at the 2021 Madrid Masters 1000 (6-1, 6-2) and Indian Wells 2022 (6-4, 4-6, 6-3), while winning Murcia in Madrid in 2022 (6-2, 1-6, 6-3) and this year in the exhibition held in Las Vegas (3-6, 6-4, 14-12).
We remember that Rafa Nadal signed a few months ago as the ambassador of the Saudi Arabian Tennis Federation (SFT) and, as part of the agreement, a Rafa Nadal Academy will open in that territory.
As explained at the time, this agreement was “a long-term commitment to help the sport grow and inspire a new generation of tennis players in Saudi Arabia.”
In the announcement, the SFT also noted that a series of plans have been launched for the opening of a new headquarters for the academy to “foster talent and serve as a center of excellence to help aspiring players fulfill their tennis dreams.”
Another step in the expansion of its academy project, which apart from having its headquarters in Manacor also has a facility in Kuwait. Also, it has a presence in resorts in tourist locations, such as Mexico, Greece and Hong Kong.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
