The ATP has officially announced its move into Saudi Arabia. Following months of speculation, the men’s tennis tour confirmed that the Next Gen ATP Finals would be staged in Jeddah as part of a new five-year deal. The 21-and-under event has previously been won by the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas. It marks the first professional tennis tournament to be held in the nation.
Tennis has become the latest sport to join the Saudi Arabia sporting takeover, following in the footsteps of football and golf. On Thursday, the men’s tennis tour officially confirmed that the Next Gen ATP Finals would be relocating to Jeddah from Milan, Italy.
The move to Saudi Arabia had been rumoured for months but Express Sport understands that details were finalised ahead of the announcement. The tournament will be held in the King Abdullah Sports City multi-use stadium from 2023 to 2027, with this year’s edition taking place from November 28 to December 2.
The 21-and-under tournament will also see a boost in prize money, with £1.58 million ($2 million) on offer. The ATP confirmed that the bidding process for the Next Gen Finals was launched in March of this year after the previous five-year deal in Milan expired.
In a statement explaining the decision, the ATP said: “The process evaluated host cities from multiple regions against criteria including venue, international connectivity, and potential to grow professional tennis in a new market.
“In addition to delivering record prize money for players, Jeddah’s successful bid, led by the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF), makes history as the first official professional tennis event to take place in Saudi Arabia. It builds on a more than 30-year presence in the Middle East for the ATP Tour.”
Following confirmation that the event would relocate to Jeddah, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “The ATP Tour is truly global and exploring new markets is central to growing the game. Bringing the Next Gen ATP Finals to Jeddah is our chance to inspire new fans, in a region with a vast young population, and unite audiences around tennis.”
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Saudi Tennis Federation president Arij Mutabagani said: “We are extremely proud that ATP has selected Jeddah to host such an important tennis event. The Next Gen ATP Finals embodies the philosophy of our Federation, which is to inspire young talent to reach the sport’s highest levels. We’re excited to collaborate to promote the ATP Tour’s most promising rising stars, and showcase new sporting innovations, in our special city of Jeddah.”
The Next Gen ATP Finals follows a similar format to that of the official year-end finals, where the top eight players aged 21-and-under compete in a round-robin format to reach the semi-finals and the final. The tournament uses a fast-4 scoring format and counts Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as former champions.
While it marks the first official tennis tournament to be staged in Saudi Arabia, the nation held an exhibition at the end of 2022. Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios were among those who competed in the Diriyah Tennis Cup, which was won by Taylor Fritz.
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