For more than a year, the leaders of tennis have been trying to gauge just how serious Saudi Arabia is about getting involved with tennis.
Was the country prepared to mount a takeover and start buying off players, as it did in golf, or was it merely content to hold an exhibition or two? Or perhaps something in between?
There is now little doubt that the country and its sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF), are intent on pursuing a broad push into the sport at every level. The leaders of the Saudi effort have shifted their attention to working with the top officials in tennis on selling their plan to the public, and they are determined not to let entrenched interests, and even some of the biggest names in the sport, stand in their way.
Saudi Arabia has offered roughly $1billion (£1.3bn) in investment in the sport in exchange for hosting major events — a move that has now become a part of the emerging chess game between the organisers of the Grand Slams and the men’s and women’s tours, in which the sport’s leaders are battling to control tennis.
Among Saudi Arabia’s next steps are finalizing and announcing the pending deal to host the WTA Finals, the end-of-season tournament that features the top-eight players — but several of the…
