Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal to play in Saudi Arabia

The two future tennis hall-of-famers agree to an exhibition match in Jeddah in December

October 09, 2018

Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Nadal Djokovic Saudi, Nadal Djokovic Jeddah

09October2018

Two of the tennis world's most dominant players, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, have agreed to play a monumental exhibition match in Saudi Arabia in December. The match, which will take place on December 22 in Jeddah's King Abdullah Sports City was confirmed by the current world number one, Nadal, on his Twitter page.

Both players have careers that put them unquestionably in the conversation for two of the greatest ever with Nadal and Djokovic combining to have won 31 Grand Slam titles between them (17 for Nadal and 14 for Djokovic). In their career they have played each other 52 times with the Serbian ahead of Spanish rival 27-25.

Thanks for the invitation and looking forward to playing and visiting for the first time ! https://t.co/hAKr5K4bnq— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) October 7, 2018

The exhibition match is another bumper coup for Saudi and Turki Al Sheikh, the Chairman of the General Sports Authority, who has been leading the charge for opening the Kingdom up as a venue to host global-level sporting events. Recent announcements have included the hosting of the Italian Super Cup between Juventus and AC Milan; hosting a friendly football match between Brazil and Argentina; and the upcoming WWE special event Crown Jewel.