Saudi Arabia explored the possibility of bidding to acquire the licenses of Tournaments in Madrid or Miamiwith the aim of organizing a Masters 1,000 in its territory.
The Saudi country currently has only Next Gen Finalswhich brings together the eight best tennis players under the age of 21 and does not distribute points for the ATP ranking, but the expansion has begun to have a higher caliber tournament, according to The Athletic.
Negotiations are at an early stage and the goal of Saudi Arabia is to obtain the license for one of these two tournaments, which is now in the hands of IMG, the event organization and representation company – it represents, among many others , Carlos Alcaraz -.
The Miami Masters 1,000 began in 1985, while the Madrid tournament began operations in 2002.
Despite the lack of an official tournament, Saudi Arabia has organized exhibitions at the end of the year and plans to hold one between Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz in December. In addition, they tried to close the organization of the WTA Finals, which after the failed agreement with China has been played for the last three years in Guadalajara (Mexico), Fort Worth (United States) and Cancún (Mexico), and it is not excluded that it will be achieved they have an agreement with the WTA for 2024.
The entry of Saudi Arabia into the circuit is not viewed negatively by the ATP, as it will avoid a possible takeover bid as happened in golf, when the LIV circuit took a large part of the most important tennis players with the promise of more generous prizes and a shorter calendar. This, in the current circuit where only between 100 and 150 players can earn from the sport, and where they compete eleven months a year, is a real risk.
When asked in June about the possibility of playing in Saudi Arabia, Alcaraz assured that he had no doubt that at some point they would play there.
This news comes days after the Saudis certified the organization of the 2034 World Cup, after their candidacy was the only one received by FIFA in time, following Australia’s withdrawal.
Source: La Verdad
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