Will there be a Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia from January 2025?
There’s talk of a Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia from January 2025, raising questions around how this will fit with the current tennis calendar
(Panoramic)
Rumours are spreading about a Masters 1000 event taking place in Saudi Arabia in January 2025.
Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis Federation, has fuelled speculation, saying, “I hope that the Masters 1000 they will have in January 2025 will satisfy their “tennis cravings”.”
It’s worth noting that while the ATP Tour is yet to confirm or deny whether Saudi Arabia will receive a Masters 1000 event, Binaghi was the first to announce the news about Saudi Arabia hosting the ATP Next Gen Finals in 2023.
How would a Masters 1000 in January work?
The immediate question that talk of a Masters 1000 in January raises is how such an event would work with the current tennis calendar.
Typically, players will head to either Australia or New Zealand in the first two weeks of the year to play one of several ATP events as warm ups ahead of the Australian Open in mid-January. If a Masters 1000 event was to occur in Saudi Arabia in January, this would represent additional travel for players, impacting their preparation heading into the year’s first Grand Slam.
Questions also exist around whether or not this new Masters 1000 event would replace a current tournament, or come in as a 10th Masters-level event on the ATP Tour.
The WTA Tour could be facing similar questions soon, with Billie Jean King recently declaring that she believes the WTA will go to Saudi Arabia in the near future:
“I think they’ll be there. The thing I’m concerned about is the women, I want change if we go. But I’m big on engagement and inclusion so it’s a tough one. I know people are going to go there. The WTA played in Qatar in ’08, we took tennis there and we still have a tournament there every year.”
Whether or not this speculation comes to fruition remains to be seen, as Saudi Arabia looks to impose itself in the sporting world more and more.
