Saudia Arabia’s PIF comes in a multi-year partnership with WTA to support women’s professional tennis grow leaps and bounds

PIF and WTA start a new era in tennis history.

Saudia Arabia’s PIF comes in a multi-year partnership with WTA to support women’s professional tennis grow leaps and bounds

PIF create partnership with WTA (Via Open Source/X)

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has officially formed a multiyear partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). This partnership will make PIF the first title sponsor of the WTA Rankings. Additionally, they plan to collaborate on enhancing current programs and creating new opportunities for young tennis players.

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In late February, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour entered into a five-year deal with PIF, granting them naming rights to the men’s tour rankings, now called the PIF ATP Rankings. The sponsorship also extends to various events, including the joint ATP/WTA Masters tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing’s WTA 1000 tournament, and ATP 500 tournaments.

The WTA Finals will be hosted in Saudi Arabia under a three-year agreement. This year’s season-ending championship in November will feature a record prize money of $15.25 million, marking a 70% increase from 2023.

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Saudi Arabia’s PIF established the LIV Golf Tour and has invested in soccer as well. The kingdom’s involvement in tennis is also growing. The ATP Tour relocated its Next Gen Finals for top players aged 21 and under to the Middle Eastern country in November.

Additionally, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal recently became an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation. He will participate in an exhibition in Riyadh in October alongside 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, World No.2 Jannik Sinner, and World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz, respectively.

Saudi Arabia divides opinion between the former and future tennis players

At the start of the season, tennis fans saw the world’s top two ATP players at the time, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, participating in an exhibition in Riyadh. This marked the beginning of significant developments in the tennis circuit.

PIF deal
PIF deal of ATP (Via Imago)

In addition to the Year End Championships relocating to Saudi Arabia, tennis legend Roger Federer is being discussed as a potential host of the Laver Cup in the Middle East. Given Federer’s immense popularity, this would represent a significant development for the region. Indeed, the Swiss Maestro has consistently expressed his commitment to expanding the sport to areas where it may not have had as much exposure.

There has been talk of establishing a premier Masters 1000 tournament in Saudi Arabia, which could be part of a broader reorganization involving the WTA, ATP, and the nation. Several past and present tennis players, including John McEnroe and Grigor Dimitrov, have expressed concerns about the potential move of tennis events to the Middle East.

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are among the voices calling for the WTA to refrain from involvement in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, Billie Jean King, another tennis Hall of Famer known for her advocacy of equal rights, has encouraged engagement.

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