Rafael Nadal admitted struggles with fitness following his straight-sets loss to Carlos Alcaraz in his opening match of the Saudi exhibition event on Thursday. A 22-time Grand Slam champion, Nadal made known he was nowhere near the physical level at the top echelon on the ATP Tour.
Later Saturday, Alcaraz-who has never lost a Grand Slam final-will face Australian Open and US Open champion Jannik Sinner in the “Six Kings Slam” exhibition final.
Saudi Arabia’s push into tennis has been gaining momentum and was sealed with its first-ever ATP event last year, the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. That tournament featured exhibition matches between Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz, as well as Aryna Sabalenka against Ons Jabeur, showing the ambition of the kingdom to become one of the major tennis destinations.
In April, the WTA joined in, announcing that the next three editions of the WTA Finals will be held in Riyadh, bringing together the top eight singles players and doubles teams; the 2024 edition is scheduled from November 2-9.
Saudi Arabia’s investments mark a growing influence in the global tennis landscape.
