Rafael Nadal Leads Trio Of Top 10 Players Heading To Abu Dhabi

Ten-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal will return to Abu Dhabi later this year to play in the Mubadala World Tennis Championships.

The singles-only exhibition tournament will be entering into its tenth edition later this year. Nadal is already a four time champion at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex, winning the trophy more times than any other player. Since the inaugural tournament back in January 2009, only a member of the ‘big four’ has become champion.

“I am extremely excited to play in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship again later this year. This tournament is very important to me as it is not only the 10th edition and my ninth appearance, but I will also be defending my title. I’m very proud to be part of this great event and I know it will be a really enjoyable and challenging tournament as always,” Nadal said on Monday.

This week the Spaniard is on the verge of returning to world No.1 for the first time since June 2014. So far this season, Nadal has won 46 out of 53 matches played and claimed a quartet of ATP titles on the clay.

The world No.2 will also be joined in the competition by two other top-10 players. Dominic Thiem will be making his debut and former finalist Milos Raonic. 23-year-old Thiem is the only player to defeat Nadal on the clay this year. Meanwhile, Raonic triumphed over the Spaniard in Brisbane at the start of the season.

A total of six players will feature in this year’s tournament with three names yet to be confirmed. The winner takes home a big pay packet of US$ 250,000. At the upcoming US Open, players will need to reach at least the fourth round to win that amount of prize money.

The three-day exhibition will start on December 28th.

Previous champions of the World Tennis Championships