After months of waiting for Grand Slam leaders to devise a strategy to change tennis and generate billions of dollars in revenue, the rest of the sport’s leaders may be about to take matters into their own hands. Following months of behind-the-scenes discussions, the leaders of the men’s and women’s professional tours are hoping to assure financial viability with at least $1 billion in Saudi Arabian financing.
The move comes amid rising tensions in the sport, which players and executives say is poised for a once-in-a-generation realignment filled with grandiose promises of transformation but frequently fails to address long-standing structural issues — a season that is too long, too confusing to follow, too taxing for players, and doesn’t allow for more than the top 80 or so players to cover their expenses. Andrea Gaudenzi, chairman of the ATP, the men’s tour, shared details of proposed investments from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), many of which had previously been discussed or even agreed upon, at a contentious meeting among the sport’s leaders on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
Taken collectively, the initiatives have the potential to raise overall tennis income and investment by nearly a third, which now ranges between $2.5 and $3 billion. According to persons acquainted with the idea, who wish to remain anonymous to protect relationships, the majority of the funds would be used to purchase a license for a new top-tier mixed event in Saudi Arabia. There is also money for more sponsorships. PIF has already committed up to $100 million in sponsorships for the men’s rankings and several events, which were included in Gaudenzi’s proposal last weekend. The plan also included Saudi Arabia’s prospective agreement to host the WTA Tour Finals, which has yet to be publicized but is likely to be completed in the coming weeks.
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A part of the money may also be used to fund a revived senior tour, increase prize money for current players, and promote smaller tournaments that allow young players to compete and more established players to earn appearance fees. The meeting and the anticipated $1 billion investment from Saudi Arabia were originally reported by the Telegraph. Representatives of Saudi’s PIF did not respond to inquiries seeking comment. The funding proposal came at a time when sport officials were anticipating a completely different strategy for rejuvenating the sport and altering its organization.
Since the summer, the men’s and women’s professional tennis tour leaders, as well as the owners of their most important tournaments, have been waiting for the Grand Slams to provide a plan to revamp the sport and assure its financial future. They were first told that it would take place in Turin, Italy, during the ATP Finals in November. Then the delivery date was pushed out to January in Australia. Finally, it arrived on Saturday at Indian Wells, the site of the first mixed tour tournament of the year, known as the ‘fifth Slam’.
Many of the sport’s top authorities gathered to learn what the Grand Slams had to offer. They predicted a well planned condensed schedule that would be simpler for spectators to follow while also reducing the load on top players, which those players have been requesting for years.
Most importantly, they expected the leaders of the sport’s four richest and most important events — the Australian, U.S., and French Opens, as well as Wimbledon — to have developed at least a framework for combining their media and commercial rights with those of the top tournaments on the tour in a way that would allow everyone to contribute to the creation of a more profitable and sustainable sport.
Many of the sport’s top authorities gathered to learn what the Grand Slams had to offer. They predicted a well planned condensed schedule that would be simpler for spectators to follow while also reducing the load on top players, which those players have been requesting for years.
Most importantly, they expected the leaders of the sport’s four richest and most important events — the Australian, U.S., and French Opens, as well as Wimbledon — to have developed at least a framework for combining their media and commercial rights with those of the top tournaments on the tour in a way that would allow everyone to contribute to the creation of a more profitable and sustainable sport.
They presented a proposed timetable with the weeks of play specified, although it was mostly the same as the existing schedule and did not indicate which events would take place during which weeks.When the other officials questioned them about financial arrangements, Tiley and Sherr explained that they required buy-in on the widest of broad strokes and requested the establishment of a working group to sort out the money. That notion was soon shut down. According to those engaged in the meetings, the Grand Slams were informed that any future negotiations would be handled by Gaudenzi and his WTA counterpart, Steve Simon.
Simon has mostly supported the Grand Slams’ early efforts to develop a premium tour. Gaudenzi has not. When Sherr met with him in Europe last month, Gaudenzi informed him that the sport already had a so-called premium circuit, which consisted of Masters tournaments for men and 1000 events for women depending on the number of ranking points earned by the victor. The Grand Slam organizers, particularly Tiley and his colleagues at Tennis Australia, are keen to keep control of the tennis calendar, which is based on regional swings that culminate in their tournaments throughout most of the year. However, Gaudenzi and Simon have spoken with Saudi authorities about hosting a new, high-level mixed tournament in the nation in January.
This might endanger the profitability of the tour tournaments in Australia and New Zealand preceding the Australian Open. Tennis Australia supervises such tournaments, prompting Tiley to intervene last summer when news circulated that Gaudenzi was liaising with Saudi authorities. Since then, the two have been competing indirectly, although Gaudenzi has taken the lead for the time being. That is due to one simple reason: he has money to give the rest of the sport, but Tiley and Sherr have not.
