Nadal leads clay-court clinic for kids in Jeddah

Stepping on a clay court for a tennis lesson takes on a whole different meaning when Rafael Nadal is your coach.

That was the case for some young tennis players in Jeddah on Saturday, when the record 14-time Roland Garros champion ran a kids’ clinic on the clay courts of the city's The Racquet Space club. Nadal, who is in the Red Sea coastal city for a three-day visit to the Next Gen ATP Finals, showed the youngsters how to swing the racquet just like he did throughout his stellar 20-year career on the ATP Tour.

Following his time on court on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, Nadal headed to King Abdullah Sports City to visit the Next Gen ATP Finals fan zone, where he met fans, posed for photographs and signed autographs.

_{^{Rafael Nadal meets fans on Saturday at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. Photo Credit: Saudi Tennis Federation}}

Nadal’s on-court students for the day were not the only young players he has inspired this week in Jeddah. On Friday, the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings took part in a round-table chat with three of the 20-and-under stars in the Jeddah field — Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik and Alex Michelsen — during which he answered their questions and offered advice for their careers ahead.