Carlos Alcaraz has insisted that he would have no problem participating in a tennis tournament in Saudi Arabia after the chairman of the ATP publicly acknowledged for the first time that talks have been held with the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
Andrea Gaudenzi said that “positive” discussions had taken place with several potential investors, including the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
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It has been expected for several months that the Next Gen Finals, an ATP season-ending event for players aged 21 and under, will move to Jeddah from Milan as part of a new five-year deal. An announcement is imminent.
Gaudenzi’s admission indicates that the door is open for more tournaments to be held in Saudi Arabia.
Seven-figure appearance fees could be offered to top players for a new ATP Tour event, while it is inevitable that the PIF will display interest in the next tender process for the ATP Finals – which are at present held in Turin – from 2026.
“I think they have the power to have a lot of tournaments,” Alcaraz, the world No 1 from Spain, said after his win at Queen’s Club on Sunday.
“I have never played a tournament over there, but have no doubts that I will play over there in the future.”
Nick Kyrgios meanwhile was far more excited by the possibility of Saudi Arabian investment into tennis, taking to Twitter to share his delight at the potential move and the rivers of money that would come with it.
“Finally. They see the value. We are going to get paid what we deserve to get paid. Sign me up,” Kyrgios wrote.
Kyrgios currently remains in doubt for Wimbledon after pulling out of the Mallorca Open over the weekend amid knee injury concerns.
The Australian, 28, said he was still hoping to compete at the London Grand Slam, where he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic last year.
“Super disappointed I won’t be able to compete at this year’s Mallorca Championships,” said Kyrgios in a video published on Twitter by the Spanish tournament’s organisers.
“I’ve still got a lot going on with my body at the moment, obviously with Wimbledon around the corner, hopefully I’ll be able to get healthy for that.
“So sorry and hopefully I’ll see you next year.”
Kyrgios, who underwent surgery on his left knee earlier this year, has only played one match in the past five months.
The views of Alcaraz and Kyrgios are directly at odds with the view of Andy Murray, who has long maintained that he would not accept any sizeable financial offers to compete in Saudi Arabia.
“I wouldn’t play, no,” Murray said this month. “I would imagine it will only be a matter of time before we see tennis tournaments played there.”
In an indication that Gaudenzi wants to avoid the conflict that divided golf for the past year, he stressed that investors must “stick to respecting the history of the sport, working with the current stakeholder rather than against”.
“You have to preserve something which is almost sacred, the rules of the game,” Gaudenzi told the Financial Times. “This is not a video game.”
Saudi figures have had their eyes on making a move into tennis for some time. Last year the WTA confirmed that inquiries had been received from the PIF about the possibility of hosting an official women’s tour event.
While the ATP is said to be in a far better financial position than the WTA, Gaudenzi is clearly eager to avoid the threat of a breakaway tour emerging and he welcomed the recent peace agreement between the PIF and the PGA and DP World Tours in golf.
“You want to see the top players playing each other,” he said. “You want one ranking and one simple story.”
– with news.com.au