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saudi arabia Will host a new ATP Masters tournament, possibly starting in 2028, in the first combination of the men’s tennis tour’s premium series since its founding 35 years ago.
The ATP announced the formation of the 10th Masters event on Thursday, but ATP President Andrea Gaudenzi made no commitments about a specific year or an exact location on the calendar for the debut. The extension comes as players renew calls to reconsider the game’s long and crowded schedule.
“All we can say at this stage is that it will be at the beginning of the season… the first half of the season,” Gaudenzi said in a video conference with reporters.
He said he would like to hold a 56-player, one-week tournament in February after the Australian Open ends – calling it a “better outcome” – and ideally set up a system. middle east The swing and the South American swing are going on during that part of the year.
It is the latest in a series of moves to bring money into tennis from Saudi Arabia and bring the sport to the kingdom, including the ATP Next Gen Finals held in Jeddah for emerging players and the WTA Finals for the best female tennis players. Riyadh, public investment fund Also sponsors both women’s and men’s rankings.
Hall of Famers chris evert And Martina Navratilova has been one of the critics of the sport’s relations with Saudi Arabia due to concerns about LGBTQ+ and women’s rights there.
Gaudenzi said the plan is to launch the Saudi Arabia Masters in 2028, with dates to be announced sometime next year.
“The exact position on the calendar hasn’t been decided yet,” he said. “Obviously, February is an option. … It’s a possibility, but not decided yet.”
Danny Townsend, CEO of SURJ Sports Investments, a PIF company, would not rule out that the new tournament could eventually join the growing ranks of two-week joint events with both men and women.
Townsend said, “There are benefits to having both men and women playing at the same time. I know there has been an increase in ticket sales, there are a number of other business elements that we would certainly like to take better advantage of.” “But that’s all in the future. We’ll never say for sure and we’ll find out if this could become an option.”
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis