Ambassador” Nadal due in Saudi for his duties

Rafael Nadal will return to the spotlight at the mid-week start of the revised NextGen Finals to be staged in Saudi Arabia, with the now-retired Spaniard fulfilling his contractual obligation with the local federation.

The 38-year-old who played his last match in November at the Davis Cup Finals before hanging up his racquet, controversially accepted a position in February as “ambassador” for the federation.

The Saudi public wealth investment fund has been buying its way into tennis, and has already served as host for the WTA Finals as well as snaring the under-20 NextGen under a five-year contract.

Nadal will front up as part of the PR effort when the event begins on Wednesday in Jeddah.

“Hello, it’s Rafa here. Just remains one week for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah,” Nadal said in a Saudi social media post..

“Make sure you are ready to watch some of the best talents, special young talents, in the world. See you there!”

The 22-time Grand Slam winner has been a frequent visitor to the kingdom, participating in a well-paid exhibition in October also featuring fellow elites Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and USD 6 million winner Jannik Sinner..