Saudi Arabia maintain ‘optimistic’ talks to purchase tennis after mega-money sports activities offers

Tennis might be set to maneuver to Saudi Arabia after ATP Tour chair Andrea Gaudenzi held talks with the nation’s Public Investment Fund. The PIF has already made strides in golf and soccer and appears to be focusing on tennis as the most recent sport to obtain a money increase. But the tour’s chairman has made it clear that the fund would want to respect the game.

Saudi Arabia has continued its funding into sport – with the PIF funding Newcastle United and a one-rival breakaway golf tour, LIV. After the PGA Tour lastly gave in and agreed a take care of the PIF to unite the excursions, the nation has began wanting so as to add one other string to its bow in tennis.

According to the Financial Times, Gaudenzi held “positive” discussions with the PIF and different potential traders. But he warned that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund must “stick to respecting the history of the sport and the product, working with the current stakeholder rather than against.”

The ATP Tour chairman added: “You have to preserve something which is almost sacred, the rules of the game. This is not a video game, this is not a movie.” It’s the primary time that the skilled males’s tennis tour has acknowledged talks with Saudi Arabia.

The Daily Mail beforehand reported that the nation was in discussions to host this yr’s Next Gen ATP Finals – the year-end event for the highest eight gamers aged 21-and-under – after its five-year deal in Milan expired.

The event – which has beforehand been gained by the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas – appears set to maneuver to Jeddah as this yr’s host venue remains to be but to be formally introduced. But it wouldn’t be the primary time {that a} event has been staged in Saudi Arabia.

Although it was simply an exhibition, the nation staged the Diriyah Tennis Cup on the finish of 2022. It attracted huge names together with Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Nick Kyrgios and Britain’s Cameron Norrie.

They additionally not too long ago acquired the 4 largest groups in Saudi Arabia’s soccer league – Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, and Al Ahli. Cristiano Ronaldo had already been lured to affix the Riyadh-based aspect Al Nassr in the beginning of this yr in a deal stated to be price £172 million (€200 million) per yr, and different huge names at the moment are set to observe swimsuit.

Earlier this month, N’Golo Kante agreed to signal for Jeddah-based membership Al-Ittihad upon the expiration of his contract with Chelsea. Karim Benzema, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ruben Neves are additionally set to affix the Saudi Pro League.