The ATP Tour has announced a new Masters 1000 tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia and starting as early as 2028. This has been expected for months, but has now been officially announced.
The biggest questions that haven’t been answered (or determined) at this point are WHEN will this event be held and WHERE? The most logical place on the tennis calendar would be to start the season before the Australian Open, or after the Australian Open in February, when the ATP Tour has a Middle Eastern swing in Doha and Dubai. Holding the event to start the year would disrupt Australia’s pre-Australian Open tour and would not be ideal for players looking to immediately acclimatize to the Australian time zone and weather conditions just after the off-season. Holding the event in February would pose a bigger threat to the South American clay-court swing that is also being played at that time as the Doha and Dubai events, but would provide a consistent hardcourt transition to the other two hardcourt Winter Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami.
The following is the official press release from the ATP Tour.
ATP and SURJ Sports Investment, a PIF company, today announced the launch of an all-new ATP Masters 1000 tournament, which will take place in Saudi Arabia.
In what is the first-ever expansion of the tournament category, Saudi Arabia will become the tenth host of the ATP Masters 1000, joining the existing nine tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris. The Saudi tournament will start as early as 2028.
The agreement marks a new era for global tennis and a major sporting transformation in Saudi Arabia, bringing the most celebrated names in sport to the country and providing an unforgettable experience for fans.
Hosting the tenth ATP Masters 1000 event underlines PIF’s long-term commitment to shaping the future of international tennis and global sport, and enhancing Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading global sports and entertainment hub. The deal builds on the existing strategic partnership between PIF and ATP, which includes PIF as the official naming rights partner of the PIF ATP Rankings (as well as the WTA Rankings), partnerships at several key ATP Tour events and the recent launch of a next-generation technology platform, ATP Tennis IQ Powered by PIF. As part of the agreement, the new event will join ATP and the existing Masters 1000 tournaments as shareholders of ATP Media, the Tour’s global broadcast and media arm.
The tournament will also focus on accelerating the growth of the game at all levels. A nationwide grassroots program, developed in partnership with the Saudi Tennis Federation, will promote inclusivity, accessibility and talent development, inspiring the next generation of Saudi athletes and champions and creating robust pathways for participation. This supports part of PIF’s wider ambition to grow the sport at all levels and help drive the development of tennis in both the men’s and women’s games.
Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP President, commented: “This is a proud moment for us and the culmination of a journey that has been years in the making. Saudi Arabia has shown a genuine commitment to tennis – not only at the professional level, but also in growing the game more widely at all levels. PIF’s ambition for the sport is clear, and we believe fans and players alike will be amazed by what is to come. strengthening our premium events is driving record growth and transformation across Europe. the Tour, and we are grateful to our partners at PIF and SURJ for helping us realize that growth and share this vision.”
Bander Bin Mogren, Chairman of SURJ Sports Investment, said: “Bringing an ATP Masters 1000 event to Saudi Arabia is a major step forward for tennis in the region and a reflection of our shared commitment with ATP to the growth of the game around the world. This announcement underlines Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a major destination for world-class sport and reinforces our ambition to bring athletes, fans and the wider tennis community for years to come. to come. We are proud to lead this effort together with our partners, and we are committed to delivering a tournament that leaves a lasting legacy for the sport.”
Danny Townsend, CEO of SURJ Sports Investment, added: “The launch of an ATP Masters 1000 in Saudi Arabia is a defining moment in our journey to improve the sporting landscape. This tournament is more than an event; it is a statement of ambition, showcasing Saudi Arabia’s role as a global sporting hub. In partnership with ATP, we aim to deliver an extraordinary experience for players and fans, while furthering our mission to develop the game of sports. every level.”
Sports is a key strategic sector for PIF, unlocking opportunities and enriching lives as Saudi Arabia establishes itself as a global destination for sports and a driver of long-term economic growth. PIF supports a wide range of sports globally and domestically, including football, tennis, golf, electric motorsports, martial arts and esports, to fuel the global growth of the sport and encourage participation domestically.
With Riyadh hosting the WTA Finals since 2024 and Jeddah home to the Next Gen ATP Finals since 2023, this latest announcement will strengthen the country’s bond with tennis and inspire a rising fan base with another glimpse of the world’s best players.
More details about the tournament location and dates will be announced in due course.
About the ATP
The ATP’s mission is to serve tennis. As the governing body of the ATP Tour and Challenger Tour, we entertain a billion fans worldwide, showcase the world’s greatest players at prestigious tournaments and inspire the next generation of the game. From the United Cup in Australia to Europe, America and Asia, the stars of the game compete for titles and PIF ATP Rankings points at ATP Masters 1000, 500 and 250 events and Grand Slams. All roads lead to the Nitto ATP Finals, our prestigious season finale in Turin, Italy. Featuring only the season’s top eight singles and doubles teams, the year-end ATP World No. 1 crowning tournament presented by PIF is the ultimate achievement in tennis. For more information, please visit www.ATPtour.com.
About PIF
PIF is the investment engine driving the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia and the world. With an ambitious program to achieve Vision 2030, PIF is investing in projects, companies and partners to diversify the Saudi economy, drive growth in every key sector and create new opportunities for investment and employment.
And as a global investor and catalyst of change, PIF actively partners with the most pioneering organizations around the world to accelerate their growth and transfer the technology and knowledge needed to build industrial ecosystems of the future.
Since 2017, PIF has established 103 companies and is driving the transition to a more sustainable economy through strategic investments and partnerships in the Saudi public and private sectors. PIF lays the foundation for local and international partners to invest in Saudi Arabia’s economic and social transformation.
About SURJ Sports Investment
SURJ (/Surge/) Sports Investment, a PIF company, drives the growth of international sports through strategic investments with global and local resonance. Its mandate focuses on investing in global rights holders and key actors in the global sports ecosystem – investments that will generate long-term returns, enable sports and sports-related companies to innovate and reach new audiences and create new experiences. SURJ Sports Investment unlocks game-changing opportunities and inspires the next generation of talent and fans in Saudi Arabia, the broader MENA region and beyond.
For more information about SURJ Sports Investment, visit www.surjsports.com.
About ATP Media
As the broadcast and media arm of the ATP Tour, ATP Media was founded in 2001 as Tennis Properties Limited; providing the centralized exploitation of media rights throughout the ATP Tour, hosting broadcast production for the Nitto ATP Finals, Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, ATP Masters 1000s and world feed production for the ATP 500s and, most recently, the ATP 250s. ATP Media has unrivaled access and expertise in the full-service broadcast production of professional men’s tennis with an end-to-end solution for global broadcasters including: rights sales, multi-platform live production, data-driven insights, award-winning non-live short form and social media content, a global fiber distribution network and an industry-leading digital archive. ATP Media also owns and operates its own market-leading direct-to-consumer platform TennisTV. For more information, please visit www.atpmedia.tv.
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