After years of pushing, everything looks ready for Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar move to become a major force in tennis to take off — with one major hitch.
The Ministry of Sport of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF) and the WTA Tour then announced a three-year deal to host the tour finals.
These moves raised Saudi Arabia’s tennis profile, but its potential new tournament at the start of the season was seen as the most important of its tennis investments — and its most divisive.
It would cement Saudi Arabia’s place at the center of the sport, bringing with it an extensively criticized human rights record.
Saudi Arabia’s moves into tennis have roiled the organisations behind the Grand Slam tournaments.
Persons:
Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, —, Novak Djokovic, Turki Alalshikh, Rome —, ”, Nadal, Sinclair, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, “, Jamal Khashoggi, Henry Nicholls, Iga Swiatek, Adam Pretty
Organizations:
St, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, WTA, Saudi, ATP, Public Investment Fund, SURJ Sports Investment, U.S ., ”, Sport, Saudi Tennis Federation, WTA Tour, Sinclair, Tennis, Rights Watch, Athletic, Wimbledon, Getty, Australia, Tennis Australia, Laver
Locations:
Hotel, Riyadh, Saudi, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome, provisionality, PIF, Istanbul, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand