ATP's departing chief confirms plans to bring major event to Saudi Arabia by 2028

Departing ATP chief executive Massimo Calvelli has revealed plans to bring a major event to Saudi Arabia in the next few years. The oil-rich country is investing heavily in sports but remains a controversial figure because of its record regarding human rights violations.

Many in the West believe that Saudi Arabia’s push to invest in different sports is an effort to build its soft image. Despite all those controversies, tennis made a grand entry last year in the country, where a WTA Finals event was organised. America’s Coco Gauff came out on top after beating China’s Zheng Qinwen in the final.

Departing ATP chief executive Calvelli recently spoke to The National, a UAE-based English media outlet, where he explained the men’s tennis organisation's plans. He stated that a plan is in place to bring an ATP 1000 event, the second-biggest event in the men’s tennis calendar after the Grand Slams, to the Middle Eastern country by 2028.

“The vision of bringing tennis here for the long term, he said. “The vision of making tennis part of the broader ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, from a social standpoint, from an economic standpoint, and all the many different dimensions that come with it. So we completely changed our approach in regard to Saudi Arabia. Since the first time that I visited Saudi Arabia, it was, I want to say, two-and-a-half years ago, to today, there are 50,000 kids that are playing tennis in schools in Saudi, which is something that we are very proud of. The Saudi Tennis Federation has done an amazing job at promoting and facilitating that. On the back, obviously, of the fact that we're taking tennis tournaments here, and we have a partnership with PIF. But we think that the ground is fertile and there is a very strong appetite here.

He continued by saying: “So we're very committed to the opportunity, and we think if we're going to bring a top-tier event, a Masters 1000 event, the outlook is potentially from 2028. By the time we get there, in terms of investments in infrastructure and the demand that we will have created together, working with the different stakeholders here, like PIF or the Saudi Tennis Federation, certainly there is going to be an incredible opportunity. Even more so if we can couple that with bringing the women's side, our women counterparts as well, right? That's the other side of the equation.”