The ATP has confirmed what many have speculated would happen as Saudi Arabia is set to host a Masters tournament from 2028.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia hosted an ATP-level tournament for the first time ever when Jeddah was named as the host city for the NextGen ATP Finals. The following year, the Saudis got into tennis even more after they struck a three-year deal with the WTA to host the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
In early 2024, the ATP and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) agreed on a multi-year partnership. Since then, there have been rumors about the Saudis looking to make the next big step by getting the right to host a tournament from the Masters category. And, now, that is set to happen.
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Saudi Arabia will become the 10th country to host a Masters tournament. Their Masters event will be non-mandatory and feature a 56-player field. Also, the likely dates for the event will be sometimebefore the Australian Open, or in February.
ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi's statement on Saudi Arabia getting a Masters tournament
"This is a proud moment for us and the result of a journey thats been years in the making. Saudi Arabia has shown a genuine commitment to tennis not just at the professional level, but also in growing the game more broadly at all levels," ATP CEO Gaudenzi said in a statement.
"PIFs ambition for the sport is clear, and we believe fans and players alike will be amazed by whats coming. Strengthening our premium events is driving record growth and transformation across the Tour, and were grateful to our partners at PIF and SURJ for helping deliver that growth and sharing in this vision.
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The top players of the game have already played in the Kingdom- at the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh - and the majority of them have had nothing but good to say about their experience in the Kingdom.
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal were among the names that played in Riyadh in the last two years.
