Tennis star Nick Kyrgios is excitedly welcoming contemporary Saudi curiosity within the sport as Australian Open boss Craig Tiley says he thinks the sport can keep away from division.
Saudi Arabia is poised to speculate closely within the males’s ATP tour after important forays into golf and soccer, with the under-21 Next Gen match set to discover a new house in Jeddah and a minimum of one different main occasion within the Gulf nation’s sights.
Kyrgios, who final yr skipped the Davis Cup to compete for a $1.5m prize at an exhibition occasion within the Saudi capital of Riyadh, mentioned gamers could be “paid what we deserve” if the nation secured ATP occasions.
“Finally. They see the value. We are going to get paid what we deserve to get paid. Sign me up,” he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning.
The Saudi-backed insurgent LIV tour threatened to tear aside golf final yr, however Australian Open boss Tiley mentioned the nation speaking on to the ATP about an funding prompt there wouldn’t be any such division in tennis.
“What’s different to what we’re seeing (in other sports) is this is an investment in the current structure of the game and not an investment in an alternative option,” Tiley mentioned.
“But like everything in the world, there’s lots of changes always going on, so you’ve got to watch what’s going on and stay close to it.
“But, ultimately, that’s a decision for the men’s and the women’s tour.”
Tiley mentioned he agreed with Kyrgios that tennis gamers had been underpaid.
“We’ve done it as a grand slam – we’ve done the best we can to compensate the players. In fact, this year there was over $100m in prizemoney on offer for a period of four weeks for both men and women,” he mentioned.
“Our view is that if men get paid a certain amount, the women need to be paid the same amount, and vice versa, so we’ve always held that position and always will hold that position.
“The more players, not just the top players, who can make a good living, the healthier it is for the sport.”
Tiley mentioned Kyrgios might get “on a roll” at Wimbledon if he received via his first few matches, backing the world No.33 to be match to play after withdrawing from the Halle and Mallorca opens this month as a consequence of an ongoing knee downside.
“I’ll get a better feel for that when I’m right in front of him, having a chat to him – which will be from tomorrow – but Nick loves the grass,” Tiley mentioned.
“Last year he was in the finals, and he got better and better as the event progressed. He loves competing out there, and I know he wants nothing more than to be ready and playing at Wimbledon.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
