Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in making a significant investment in tennis, particularly the ATP Tour.
The country's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has initiated conversations with the chief of the ATP Tour, indicating a desire to expand its portfolio of sports investment as reported by the Financial Times and the Daily Mail.
Previously, reports suggested that the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals may be held in Saudi Arabia, but there are still many players that would refuse to play in the country. One of them is Andy Murray who took a clear stance.
Previously, fans in Saudi Arabia had a chance to witness high-profile tennis matches as many players from the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings took part in various exhibitions. One of those was won by Taylor Fritz after he defeated Daniil Medvedev in a million-dollar match.
The latest move comes after Saudi Arabia's PIF invested heavily in golf and managed to attract prominent football stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, and many more to play in their domestic league. The PIF has also taken control of Newcastle United and reportedly made a £16 billion offer to purchase the rights to Formula One.
Tennis insiders believe that these discussions with the ATP chief mark a continuation of a process that has been in progress for some time, because of the off-season exhibitions and the Next Gen ATP Finals talks.
The ATP Tour chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi, has described the discussions with the PIF as "positive," though he warned that any potential investors must "stick to respecting the history of the sport and the product, working with the current stakeholders rather than against."
"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. There’s many ways to become an investor of the ecosystem. It’s not only about creating a new tour or buying a tournament."
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