The ATP NextGen Finals may soon be on the move to the Saudi city of Jeddah after running since 2017 in Milan.
London’s Telegraph quoted sources as saying a five-year contract with the kingdom is all but a done deal, with no figures released on how high the bidding war for rights might have gone.
The harsh Islamic country has been throwing cash around the sports world in what many would describe as “sportswashing” – take LIV golf – by a regime which is far from keen on personal freedom, women’s rights and political dissent.
But tennis officials are no doubt eyeing the commercial opportunities which are sure to become available – even in a desert country with no tennis tradition at all.
The eight-man tournament is also likely to be moved from November to December, with ATP officials spinning the proposed change as a convenient stop on the way to Australia for next January’s Southern tennis summer.
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which funds the controversial LIV golf, has dipped its toes into tennis, staging a big-money exhibition last December in which Taylor Fritz walked away with a USD 1 million winner’s cheque for playing three matches.
Main photo:- Carlos Alcaraz won 2021 NextGen trophy – by ATP Tour
