Thanasi Kokkinakis was asked about having Saudi Arabia involved in tennis, and he thinks that it's a good thing that will benefit the sport.
Much has been talked about Saudi Arabia's involvement in tennis, with most players taking either a neutral or positive approach. It's a rather simple transaction: the country wants to have sports in the country, and players are excited about the financial ramifications that any kind of involvement will entail.
In a recent interview, the Crown Prince of the country dismissed claims of sportwashing, framing the involvement in sports as something that will help grow its GDP. From the player's perspective, the involvement of a country known for its generous spending on athletes is very enticing. It is what Kokkinakis mentioned when he was asked about it in an interview with Claytenis.
I think anything to grow the game, anything to get players paid what I think they’re worth, if Saudis wanna invest in tennis, I think is great for the game. Obviously you play for the love of the sport and there’s a lot of great events and you don’t want to lose the culture of the Grand Slams and some other big tour events around.
But if they are willing to come and help fund the players… tennis is a tough sport out there. You wanna get paid. If you are 80 in the world or anything in any other sport you are making very comfortable money, you’re not really worrying about travelling day to day. So I think that’s a big part.
A similar view was expressed by Nick Kyrgios, who was the player who emphatically embraced this news when it first came out. Most of the players likely share that view, and we've seen that with Alcaraz, Swiatek, and others expressing willingness to play in the country.
We already have an event there this year with the Next Gen ATP Finals.
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