Saudi Arabia is “expected to be confirmed as the new hosts of the end-of-season finals for both the WTA and ATP tours"Getty Images
Saudi Arabia’s PIF has “distanced itself” from reports that it has made a $2B “take-it-or-leave-it” offer to unite tennis’s ATP and WTA Tours, insisting it has “no intention of disrupting the sport,” according to Ed Aarons of the London GUARDIAN. ATP Chair Andrea Gaudenzi is said to have informed the nine ATP Masters 1000 reps that "an offer had arrived from PIF that was ‘time-sensitive’ giving all concerned 90 days to accept.” But sources have “denied there is a deadline and stressed speculation about any offers are premature” as talks continue with the various bodies. Saudi sources “also dismissed suggestions that PIF is trying to ‘buy tennis’,” stressing that it “wants to be part of the ‘existing ecosystem’ of the sport.” Unlike in golf, those involved stress that Saudi Arabia’s approach to tennis “is to be collaborative” -- working with the existing governing bodies as “part of attempts to grow participation among the general population in the kingdom.” Saudi Arabia is also “expected to be confirmed as the new hosts of the end-of-season finals for both the WTA and ATP tours” (London GUARDIAN, 3/13).
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IN A PICKLE: In London, Simon Briggs wrote the four grand slams “find themselves in an awkward corner” as their “place as the tentpoles of the world game could come under threat from rival events.” Since becoming ATP Chair in 2020, Gaudenzi has been “pushing a united model that would create a single streaming tennis service.” But for that to happen, he “needs the slams to join the party.” This has been the “most difficult proposition of his entire reign,” because Wimbledon’s annual TV rights “far outstrip the ATP’s.” Briggs added perhaps the Saudi proposition “finally gives Gaudenzi some collateral to bargain with.” If the slams “came back to the table and agreed to make their international rights part of one unified offering” -- at least, once the current deals have elapsed -- then “some sort of détente might be possible” (London TELEGRAPH, 3/13).
PUBLIC PUSH: THE ATHLETIC's Matthew Futterman writes the leaders of the Saudi effort have "shifted their attention to working with the top officials in tennis on selling their plan to the public," and they are "determined not to let entrenched interests, and even some of the biggest names in the sport, stand in their way." Several big names, including former champions Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, are "among the loudest critics" of the deal because of the country’s repressive laws toward women and homosexuals. Some current players are also "not completely comfortable with playing in Saudi Arabia" given the current laws. To assuage those concerns, sources said the WTA is working with Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S., to "schedule a conference call with the top 20 players in the game and other big names outside the top 20." The idea of the call is to "have the ambassador and other successful women from Saudi Arabia speak about the changes the country has already made and other plans to make it less repressive in the coming years." Both sides "want this to happen before" the WTA Finals deal is announced (THE ATHLETIC, 3/14).
