Saudi Arabia?s Tennis Involvement Set to Take a Massive Turn as the ATP Eyes a Masterstroke

Sports is the new oil in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has already invested billions of dollars in soccer to land some of the biggest stars of the game. Now, it looks like Game, Set, and Match. It aims to diversify its economy and looks to reduce the over-dependence on ‘liquid gold‘. What’s a better investment than an investment in the ever-growing sports industry? So, Saudi Arabia has now come up with a new proposal to the ATP to launch a new tournament.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has now turned its eye towards the racket sport. After stepping onto golf courses and football fields now they are ready to pump large amounts of money in tennis. However, critics claim it is a ‘sports-washing‘ from the taints of fossil fuels and human rights. What are the plans for the Middle East country in the near future?

ATP is now in talks with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to launch a new event

Earlier this year ATP announced that the Next Gen ATP Finals which included the top 8 ranked players of age 21 or under will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 2023 to 2027. This tournament earlier used to be held in Milan, Italy since its inception in 2017. Even the prize money has been increased to $2 billion from $1.4 billion this year. The tournament is scheduled to take place from November 28 to December 2. There were also rumors going around that it will also host WTA Finals in the future. It didn’t happen this time, but still, it raised a series of controversy since the news broke out. Now, there is another piece of news breaking out from the Gulf Nation.

Recently, ATP was in talks with officials from Saudi Arabia for a possible launch of the Masters 1000 event in 2025 according to Sports Business Journal. The tournament is proposed to be the opening tournament of the season which would wrap up only one week before the Australian Open. So, instead of Brisbane & Sydney, players would enjoy the new year in the Arabian Peninsula, if everything goes right.

The proposed investments will be discussed further in the meeting which will be held between both parties during ATP Finals in Turin. Regardless of the outcome, there is always a guarantee of heavy investments whenever Saudis step in. What do the players think about these new proposals?

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ATP is now sitting on the fence

The top tennis executives have been in talks with Saudi officials for almost more than a year for multiple potential investments in the racket sport. There were reports of Saudis’ interest in buying the Miami Open & Madrid Open. They are even looking to host an exhibition match between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz later this year. But despite all these developments, there are quite a few challenges ahead of the Kingdom.

The nation’s stringent laws and its policies towards women in particular have received quite a few criticisms recently. Its records on human rights prove to be a major challenge to its aim to become a major player in professional sports. Some players have supported bringing women’s tennis to the region. They believe that this would eventually lead to cultivating the sports culture among women of that region. But there are plenty who raises their concern about Saudi Arabia as a host.

With a larger pool of prize money, it is very difficult for both the players and authorities to say ‘No’ to the proposals. How will ATP handle the situation shortly remains the question of the hour. Share your thoughts on this.

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