Andy Roddick says the ATP created "a Wild West" by giving Saudi Arabia a non-mandatory Masters tournament since appearance fees for players are expected to be sky-high.
On Thursday, one of the worst-kept secrets in tennis became official after the ATP confirmed that the Kingdom would host a 1000-level event from 2028. However, it won't be a mandatory Masters tournament and it will feature a reduced 56-player field. It joins Monte Carlo as the only non-mandatory Masters event on the ATP Tour.
Since the ATP has no plans to ditch an already existing tournament from the 1000-category, the Saudi event will likely take place before the Australian Open or during February.
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"The fine print matters here. Were creating a Masters 1000 out of thin air, right? So now we can just print money... If this ones non-mandatory, that means players dont have to play it contractually. That means appearance fees and theyre going to be massive. Saudi isnt going to want a Masters 1000 without Sinner or Alcaraz showing up. No chance," Roddick explained on his podcast.
Roddick reveals an agent's message: It will be the Wild West in terms of money
According to Roddick, an agent he knows told him that the Saudis have zero issues with their tournament being non-mandatory. And that's because they pretty much plan to throw insane money at players and lure that way lure them to the Kingdom.
"I was texting with an agent friend of ours he said its open season on appearance fees for this tournament. Theyre celebrating the non-mandatory label like its cool 'Oh, were flexible, were modern.' But really, its going to be chaos. Itll be the Wild West in terms of money. Which, I guess, is good for players," Roddick claimed.
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Saudi Arabia has been hosting the NextGen ATP Finals since 2023, as well as the WTA Finals since last year.
