Rafael Nadal has addressed talks of “sportswashing” in Saudi Arabia after taking home £1.15million for playing two exhibition matches in Riyadh. The Spaniard was part of last week’s Six Kings Slam - a lucrative exhibition tournament which also saw Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune compete for the title.

Rafael Nadal has just played his penultimate professional tennis event, even though it was only an exhibition. The former world number 1 - who did not play at the Paris Olympics this summer - was one of the stars of the ' Six Kings Slam ' in Saudi Arabia last week.

Djokovic and Nadal had faced each other 60 times on the ATP Tour before the Oct 19 exhibition match. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The 38-year-old Nadal, who announced last week he would retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga in November, lost 6-3, 6-3 to the 21-year-old Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the Six Kings Slam event in Saudi Arabia.

Rafael Nadal has landed in Saudi Arabia, where he will play the exhibition The Six Kings Slam in Riyadh this week, before moving to the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga where, with his Spain, he will close his glorious career.

After a glittering tennis career, all-time icon Rafael Nadal has announced his intention to hang up his racket following a final appearance at the Davis Cup.