ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi admits current Tour calendar is too packed to schedule events in Saudi Arabia, but remains adamant to sign a deal for more investment

Andrea Gaudenzi states the factors he feels are a threat to the ATP deal with Saudi Arabia, keeping the importance of the deal in mind.

ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi admits current Tour calendar is too packed to schedule events in Saudi Arabia, but remains adamant to sign a deal for more investment

Andrea Gaudenzi ( Credits: ATP Tour)

Amidst the ongoing controversy over planning to schedule an event in Saudi Arabia, the ATP and the WTA have come under the spotlight as they face mixed reactions from tennis players and fans. The chief of the ATP, Andrea Gaudenzi, has expressed his desire to carry forward this deal of hosting an event in the nation.

In support of this move, the ATP chief has admitted that the current calendar is way too packed and saturated to add or host another event in Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, he also remains adamant about signing a deal because of the excellent investment and revenue opportunities in the nation. Talking about the challenge of the jam-packed schedule, the chief stated:

FS Video
I think the biggest challenge on our side is the calendar. In all honesty, it's very tight, it's very jammed.
YouTube video

While talking considerably about the challenges at hand, Andrea Gaudenzi remains stubborn and does not want to completely rule out the chance of signing a deal. Talking about his interest in moving forward with the deal despite several hurdles in front of them, he stated: 

We are exploring a number of different opportunities with Saudi Arabia. And we are here obviously, so we want to work with Saudi. I think we had very good relations the last couple of years, very interesting discussions. They have expressed the willingness and the desire to do more in sport and in tennis.

Saudi Arabia has already hosted the 2023 NextGen ATP Finals tournament in Jeddah, with Serbian Hamad Medjedovic taking the title. These talks by the ATP and the WTA about conducting tournaments in Saudi Arabia have upset quite a lot of players, as issues regarding the safety of women players and other factors come into the picture. 

Andrea Gaudenzi justifies this move by the ATP as giving value to the Middle East

The ATP chief has clearly expressed his decision in favor of hosting important tournaments and events in Saudi Arabia. Justifying this decision by the authorities, the chief stated: 

The desire for us to actually be here and be in the region, because we value the Middle East a lot, is there. I think we're going to have to work it out together in phases or we're looking at all opportunities.
Andrea Gaudenzi
Andrea Gaudenzi ( Credits: SportBusiness)

While addressing the situation at hand, he stated that they do not have ready solutions for the issues at hand, but they are definitely eager to work this deal out due to better revenues and investment opportunities in the future. 

In case you missed it: