For the first time in his long career, Rafa Nadal competed, although unofficially, in Saudi Arabia. It was at the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, the city of a country that has the Balearic tennis player as ambassador of its Tennis Federation. This connection with the nation of the Arabian Peninsula has raised some criticism towards the winner of 22 Grand Slams, that during his exclusive interview with AS after his matches against Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic he wanted to express his point of view on the matter. “I say one thing that is simple, and that is that I understand the controversy,” Rafa said during the talk.
“What happens is that there comes a given moment in which you can be in one place or another, from the opinion. “I respect all opinions, as long as mine are also respected,” Nadal said. that on January 15 he was announced as ambassador of the Saudi Tennis Federation and that he promised to open a delegation of his Academy in Diriyah (where he was going during the interview). Last week, it debuted playing in the Middle Eastern country. “Do they pay me to come here? Yes. But we must not lose perspective. You come here and what do you think? What are you doing good or what are you doing bad? Because the only problem in the end is that you charge for it. Because, really, by coming here, you help the country. And those who speak in such a drastic way against the country, very good. So what do you want? That they continue to be bad, that they continue to have the country locked up, with more inequality? The reality is one,” the Spaniard continued during his interview with AS in a car on the way to an event in Riyadh.
Above all, Nadal emphasizes his desire to improve things in the country. “In the end, by coming here, we make sure that there are events and that tourists come, something that did not happen four or five years ago,” justifies the man from Manacor, who does not deny reality either. “Let’s not fool ourselves, people call him sportwashing and of course it has a part of that, but the other part is that really thanks to all that the people who have been locked up in this country and have not been able to see a different worldthanks to all the tourists who are coming, to all the events that are taking place here throughout the year, they see another world, other cultures, and they have the ability to really advance. Therefore, I do not have the slightest doubt that the people who come to hold events here, from any field, do good for the country,” he explained.
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“Because things are not perfect, which they are not, it would only be necessary for me to say the opposite, obviously they have a long way to go, do we let them continue being bad or at least do some good and help them? Because in the end, if you did that without getting paid, why would we see it well? Well, obviously, like many other colleagues, like most governments in the world, like most companies, we are really lucky that we get paid to come here, without a doubt, there is no need to hide,” Rafa said without hot cloths, who was tremendously acclaimed throughout the week he spent in Saudi Arabia. “Here they are still behind in time compared to the West. What happens is that the prism we have is different from what they experience. Because in the end, they live it as they have all their lives. Changes cannot occur one hundred percent from today to tomorrow, because society is not prepared for a radical change. No society has been this way in history, this change has to happen progressively. I believe that all these things that are happening in the country mean that this change, instead of happening in 50 or 60 years, happens in a much shorter time. And I think that, in some way, despite all the criticism, it is worth it and I accept the criticism, I respect it.”
He Amnesty International summary on the current human rights situation in Saudi Arabia It’s devastating: “The authorities persecuted people for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression or association; some were sentenced to long prison terms or death after grossly unfair trials. Human rights defenders continued to be subjected to arbitrary detention or travel bans after being released on parole. Courts imposed death sentences after grossly unfair trials, including on people who were minors at the time of the alleged crime, and executions were carried out for a wide variety of crimes. Serious human rights abuses were committed against migrants, including homicides on the border with Yemen and situations that could amount to human trafficking for labor exploitation. Thousands of people were involuntarily returned to their country of origin as part of a nationwide crackdown on undocumented migrants. “Women continued to be discriminated against in law and practice.”
For this reason, and always with optimism to improve the situation, Nadal is cautious. “If in ten years things are still bad or the country is locked down, then obviously I will say that they told me something that was not,” he stated. “Now the NextGen Finals are coming, the women will come to play the WTA Finals and they also earn significant money, obviously. And I, of what I earn, when I return to Spain I pay 60% of taxes and that’s it, it’s not like I take the money to another part of the world. They pay me to do a task or a job, but I think it’s really going to be a job that’s going to be worthwhile,” emphasizes the tennis legend before positioning himself. “And yes, I am in favor, without a doubt, unlike many who think differently, that it cannot be said that, since things are not perfect, screw all the citizens there, that they are worse. That is the other prism of vision, I have another. If things are still not perfect, but we help them evolve and the people who are here will be better off on an ongoing basis, then fine. I support tourism in this country, without a doubt, because, in the end, having people come here allows them to see a different world that they have not seen in their lives or in their previous history. This is my point of view. Afterwards, everyone will give their opinion. I try, as always, to accept criticism always within standards of respect. “When you run away from respect, obviously I don’t share it,” declared a Nadal who did not shy away from the topic.
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