One billion dollars. That is the amount that Saudi Arabia has put on the table to merge the circuits of the ATP and the WTA starting next season. The counterproposal to this revolution in the tennis It is being led from Australia, which proposes a parallel circuit in the style of F-1. Either of the two proposals would represent a revolution in the history of tennis since the Open era (1968) and the creation of its professional circuits for men and women.
The Saudi offer made through the PIF, its investment fund, has been in the offices of those responsible for men’s and women’s tennis for some time, who have a 90-day period to accept or discard it, as has been known these days while the Indian Wells Masters 1,000 is being held. While the proposal made by Craig Tyley, director of the Australian Open, as revealed this Wednesday by the French sports newspaper L’Equipe, is taking shape in the creation of a circuit made up of four Grand Slam tournaments and 10 events that would be equivalent to the Masters 1000.
The best 100
In the circuit, called the ‘Premier Tour’, only the ‘top 100’ of men and women would play, in addition to holding a mixed team competition and another at the end of the season where the best men and women of the year would be. Players ranked between 101 and 300 would be in a secondary circuit, called ‘Contender Tour’, where the rest of the current 500 and 250 category tournaments would be held, including the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
Meetings and conversations are taking place in the offices and locker rooms of the Californian Masters 1,000 while the players are fighting for victory on the court. The new joint circuit sponsored by the petrodollars of Saudi Arabia, revealed by the British newspaper ‘The Telegraph’, would offer more economic and equal prizes in all tournaments to men and women.
Petrodollar inflow
Andrea Gaudenzipresident of the ATP who could become the CEO of the new circuit, has communicated these days to the nine Masters 1,000 the super-million-dollar Saudi offer that also, according to the British newspaper, could have the support of Wimbledon, which has just signed a sponsorship contract with the United Arab Emirates airline.
The PIF has hired Rafael Nadal as a tennis ambassador for the Saudi country and has just signed an agreement with the ATP to be a sponsor of the circuit classification and economic collaborator with the tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing, the ATP Finals in Turin and the Next Gen Finals of Jeddah, in which the best players under 21 years of age meet. Saudi Arabia intends to organize a Masters 1,000 in Ryad in January 2025 and organize the Finals of the women’s circuit. A proposal to which two tennis legends like Martina Navratilova y Chris Evert They have been opposed to the situation of women in the Saudi country.
2024-03-13 10:19:45
#Saudi #Arabia #offers #million #mixed #ATPWTA #circuit
