The Saudi Arabian investment fund (PIF) is in talks with the ATP to invest in the sportin line with what it has done in other sports such as football, where it bought Newcastle United last year for 300 million pounds (330 million euros), and golf, along with the LIV circuit, which has attracted some of the the best golfers in the world. with a multi-million dollar prize.
ATP President Andrea Gaudenzi acknowledged in an interview with the Financial Times that he had “positive conversations” with the PIF to develop infrastructure, events and new technology related to tennis.
The Italian made sure of that new investors must “respect the history of the sport and the product.”
“You have to keep something sacred, the rules of the sport. It’s not a video game, it’s not a movie,” Gaudenzi said.
This is not the first tennis adventure with Saudi Arabia and possibly in the next Next Gen Finalswhich brings together the best U21 players in the world, will be held in Jeddah after several years in Milan.
In addition, tennis players like Nick Kyrgios refused to play Davis Cup to play an exhibition in the Saudi country for more than one million pounds. But Andy Murray, a three-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one, turned down the chance to play in this country. “No, I will not play in Saudi Arabia,” replied the Briton.
PIF’s investment in golf brought the PGA’s veto on golfers joining this circuit, until a few weeks ago when the two institutions agreed to merge the two projects.
Outside the ATP, the WTA has already signed an agreement with the CVC capital fund, for the investment of 150 million dollars in the women’s circuit.while the International Tennis Federation (ITF) is about to take the Davis Cup Finals, held in Madrid and Malaga, in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, as a way to make the project profitable.
Source: La Verdad
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