The oil-rich Saudis\u2019 Public Investment Fund already won the ATP\u2019s Next Gen Finals for the next five years, starting next month, on top of splashing cash to break into other major sports, most notably soccer and golf.<\/p>\n
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Novak Djokovic received a warm welcome from Adelaide tennis fans in a lead-in tournament to the Australian Open.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n Tennis legends Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe both aired their disapproval this year about the sport\u2019s entry into Saudi Arabia, with Navratilova citing the country\u2019s \u201chuman rights issues\u201d.<\/p>\n But speaking purely about the impact on Australia\u2019s summer of tennis, Kooyong Classic tournament director Peter Johnston told this masthead the Saudi interest was \u201cnothing to be afraid of\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly four countries have a grand slam, and it\u2019s kind of unusual for a country of our size to have so many events,\u201d Johnston said. \u201cIf you try too hard to have events in every city; you\u2019re going against the grain of the tour, where there is so much demand globally \u2013 and it\u2019s hard to make all those events financially stable.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re better off embracing the broader world, passing the [financial] risk offshore, capitalise on what you\u2019ve got, and use that as a lead-in promotion, which used to be in Doha \u2026 you will still get 100 of 100 players [in both genders] for the Australian Open.\u201d<\/p>\n The Saudi development follows Tennis Australia chief executive and Australian Open boss Craig Tiley welcoming in June the Middle East nation\u2019s interest in the sport as an opportunity for more players to make a living.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are lots of changes always going on, so you\u2019ve got to watch what\u2019s going on, and we\u2019ve been staying close to it, but ultimately, that\u2019s a decision for the men\u2019s and the women\u2019s tour,\u201d Tiley said at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing that\u2019s really important to note is that the four grand slams run independently … it\u2019s most important that we take care of what we need to take care of, and that\u2019s our five weeks of tennis in January.\u201d<\/p>\n This masthead contacted Tennis Australia for Tiley\u2019s reaction to Saudi Arabia\u2019s latest interest in the sport.<\/p>\n Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra will host ATP and\/or WTA tournaments this summer ahead of the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park, while Johnston\u2019s Kooyong Classic is also scheduled the week before the grand slam.<\/p>\n Alex de Minaur in action during the 2023 Kooyong Classic.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n However, the world\u2019s best men\u2019s players, from Novak Djokovic to Carlos Alcaraz and Australia\u2019s Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios, would instead prepare for the Melbourne slam in Saudi Arabia if this idea goes ahead.<\/p>\n The fledgling United Cup, which is set to be held for the second time in Sydney and Perth in December and January after replacing the ATP Cup, would almost certainly be scrapped if the Saudi Arabia event went ahead.<\/p>\n Any moral concerns did not stop Djokovic, Alcaraz or women\u2019s world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and Tunisian star Ons Jabeur committing to a big-money exhibition in Saudi Arabia\u2019s capital city Riyadh on December 26 and 27.<\/p>\n Amnesty International described last year\u2019s Saudi tennis exhibition as \u201cthe latest jamboree of Saudi sportswashing\u201d, in reference to the country signing up \u201csmiling, high-profile\u201d sports stars who \u201cstudiously avoid talking about human rights\u201d.<\/p>\n But Kyrgios has repeatedly backed Saudi Arabia\u2019s move into tennis, believing it would result in tennis stars being paid more commensurate to their worth than the status quo.<\/p>\n The former world No.13, who has played only once this year due to injuries, also skipped Davis Cup duty again late last year to accept what he described as a six-figure payday at an exhibition event in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n \u201cFinally. They see the value. We are going to get paid what we deserve to get paid. Sign me up,\u201d Kyrgios tweeted in June about the ATP\u2019s negotiations with Saudi Arabia, followed by several money emojis.<\/p>\n The potential Saudi Masters could finish as few as seven or eight days before the 2025 Australian Open, with most of the top men\u2019s players typically opting not to compete the week before grand slams.<\/p>\n A 16-hour-plus flight from Riyadh to Melbourne so close to the Australian Open would not help that situation, possibly leading to weakened fields for tournaments, such as the Adelaide International, before the slam.<\/p>\n Johnston could also envision a scenario where the Saudi Masters started in late December, after Christmas, and did not eat as significantly into the Australian summer.<\/p>\n He is a tournament director at various events across the world, including in China, and embraces calendar flexibility, even experimenting with a Wednesday start this year to accommodate the expanded Shanghai Masters.<\/p>\n The WTA\u2019s season-ending Finals could also be Saudi-bound after a disastrous venture to Cancun, Mexico, in the past week, with horrendous weather conditions marring the event.<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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