By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, March 13, 202
Saudi Arabia is all in on a bid that could transform tennis—and give the Saudis a controlling stake in the sport.
The Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund has submitted a $2 billion take-it-or-leave it offer to merge the ATP and WTA into one unified tour, The Telegraph’s Simon Briggs reports.
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The Saudis have given ATP and WTA leaders 90 days to accept the offer, which would transform the pro circuit into one combined tour with equal prize money across the board. The four Grand Slams are not part of the Saudi offer, according to The Telegraph report.
The clock is now ticking on a decision that could dramatically alter the tennis landscape.
Potential conflict among the game’s governing bodies arises with a key component of the offer. The Saudis want a Masters 1000 tournament staged in Saudi Arabia in January as a lead-up to the Australian Open.
However Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley is reportedly opposed to a Saudi Masters 1000 in January as it would fracture the Australian summer season tournaments building up to the Melbourne major.
Under the proposed Saudi bid, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, who has been negotiating with the Saudis, would be the Commissioner of the combined tour, which would be rebranded The PIF Tour.
If the Saudi proposal is accepted, the new unified tour would start and end the season in Saudi Arabia with a combined Masters 1000 event launching the season in January and the WTA Finals ending the season in Saudi Arabia.
The fact the Grand Slams have not been involved in negotiations points to a further divide between the Tours and the four Grand Slams. That rift was highlighted when the Tours stripped Wimbledon of ranking points in 2022 in response to the grass-court Grand Slam banning Russian and Belarusian players from SW19 back in 2022 in protest of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
A former ATP player, Gaudenzi has long publicly asserted a combined ATP-WTA Tour is the best path forward for tennis in that the sport could provide fans with the best, combined player fields as well as tap into revenue from digital rights to a combined tour.
Champions ranging from Billie Jean King to Roger Federer to John McEnroe have called for the two Tours to merge in the past.
A major stumbling block has been the fact the ATP generates more revenue than the WTA and that economic…
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