Carlos Alcaraz has insisted that he would don’t have any downside taking part in a tennis event in Saudi Arabia after the chairman of the ATP publicly acknowledged for the primary time that talks have been held with the dominion’s sovereign wealth fund.
Andrea Gaudenzi stated that “positive” discussions had taken place with a number of potential traders, together with the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
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It has been anticipated for a number of months that the Next Gen Finals, an ATP season-ending occasion for gamers aged 21 and beneath, will transfer to Jeddah from Milan as a part of a brand new five-year deal. An announcement is imminent.
Gaudenzi’s admission signifies that the door is open for extra tournaments to be held in Saudi Arabia.
Seven-figure look charges could possibly be provided to prime gamers for a brand new ATP Tour occasion, whereas it’s inevitable that the PIF will show curiosity within the subsequent tender course of for the ATP Finals – that are at current held in Turin – from 2026.
“I think they have the power to have a lot of tournaments,” Alcaraz, the world No 1 from Spain, stated after his win at Queen’s Club on Sunday.
“I have never played a tournament over there, but have no doubts that I will play over there in the future.”
Nick Kyrgios in the meantime was much more excited by the opportunity of Saudi Arabian funding into tennis, taking to Twitter to share his delight on the potential transfer and the rivers of cash that may include it.
“Finally. They see the value. We are going to get paid what we deserve to get paid. Sign me up,” Kyrgios wrote.
Kyrgios at present stays doubtful for Wimbledon after pulling out of the Mallorca Open over the weekend amid knee harm considerations.
The Australian, 28, stated he was nonetheless hoping to compete on the London Grand Slam, the place he completed runner-up to Novak Djokovic final yr.
“Super disappointed I won’t be able to compete at this year’s Mallorca Championships,” stated Kyrgios in a video revealed on Twitter by the Spanish event’s organisers.
“I’ve still got a lot going on with my body at the moment, obviously with Wimbledon around the corner, hopefully I’ll be able to get healthy for that.
“So sorry and hopefully I’ll see you next year.”
Kyrgios, who underwent surgical procedure on his left knee earlier this yr, has solely performed one match up to now 5 months.
The views of Alcaraz and Kyrgios are instantly at odds with the view of Andy Murray, who has lengthy maintained that he wouldn’t settle for any sizeable monetary provides to compete in Saudi Arabia.
“I wouldn’t play, no,” Murray stated this month. “I would imagine it will only be a matter of time before we see tennis tournaments played there.”
In a sign that Gaudenzi needs to keep away from the battle that divided golf for the previous yr, he confused that traders should “stick to respecting the history of the sport, working with the current stakeholder rather than against”.
“You have to preserve something which is almost sacred, the rules of the game,” Gaudenzi advised the Financial Times. “This is not a video game.”
Saudi figures have had their eyes on making a transfer into tennis for a while. Last yr the WTA confirmed that inquiries had been obtained from the PIF about the opportunity of internet hosting an official ladies’s tour occasion.
While the ATP is alleged to be in a much better monetary place than the WTA, Gaudenzi is clearly wanting to keep away from the specter of a breakaway tour rising and he welcomed the current peace settlement between the PIF and the PGA and DP World Tours in golf.
“You want to see the top players playing each other,” he stated. “You want one ranking and one simple story.”
– with news.com.au
Source: www.news.com.au
