by He has bought his way to the very top of football, golf, boxing and Formula 1 in an unprecedented reshaping of the established order of world sport.
Now, tennis and snooker are the latest frontier in Saudi Arabia’s pursuit of an ever-expanding presence in the industry.
The Gulf king has already recruited Rafael Nadal this month as an ambassador for his tennis federation, and his Public Investment Fund is closing partnerships with the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association in what could be the biggest investment in his individual sport. since the launch of LIV Golf.
ATP executive chairman Andrea Gaudenzi is expected to be in Riyadh this week finalizing a sponsorship deal for PIF to brand the courtside display at four tournaments, as well as TV coverage of all nine Masters 1000 events.
Meanwhile, WTA chairman Steve Simon is understood to be on the verge of sealing a deal to bring his association’s year-end finals to Saudi Arabia, with reports that talks have begun over the country to host host Billie Jean King of the International Tennis Federation. Cup.
As with the state’s previous sports investments, all this was met with great opposition.
In Nadal’s case, it was alleged that Amnesty International took him in a “relentless sports laundry operation”, and Sports telegraph revealed last week that British tennis chiefs had rejected a bid for their premier tournaments Queen’s and Eastbourne to become part of the ATP tie.
It would be even more controversial to hold the WTA’s biggest event in a country where women and homosexuals are still marginalized or criminalized.
Tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, who led opposition to plans to host last year’s finals in Riyadh, write to Simon this week declaring any such move “completely inconsistent with the spirit and purpose of women’s tennis”.
King seemed more relaxed about the WTA accepting Saudi investment, saying last year: “I think they will be there. What I am concerned about is the women. I want to change if we go.”
Even if he is caught in his efforts to attract the tours, there is no sign that Saudi Arabia will switch to poaching the biggest stars in tennis in the manner of LIV Golf.
In fact, his next goal is to make a bid to stage the 10th Masters 1000 event.
It could also play a central role in a power struggle within the sport between the four grand slams – including Wimbledon – and the two tours.
Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley is behind plans to create a ‘Premier Tour’, featuring 18 or so major events, which would downgrade other ATP and WTA tournaments to second-tier status.
Since Barry and Eddie Hearn were at the forefront of bringing the biggest sporting events to the country in the shape of world championship boxing, snooker was never going to turn down some of the Arab billions.
The only surprise is that it has taken this long to stage a tournament there, with Barry Hearn having announced the launch of a ranked event in Riyadh back in 2019.
That was later canceled following the coronavirus crisis but – as reported by Telegraph Sport – he is due to start next season as part of a 10-year deal which includes prize money equal to his £2.4million found at the World Championship.
In typical Hearns fashion, the news follows the launch of the even more exciting Riyadh Season World Snooker Masters, which will include a new 23rd ball – the gold ‘Riyadh Season Ball’ – to raise the maximum possible break to 167.
There is unlikely to be much opposition to the top players going for the Saudi petrodollars, with Ronnie O’Sullivan set to headline the new invitational tournament in March, with an announcement of the 128-player ranking event expected before the World Championship in April.
But the Saudi investment is sure to spark discussions about the future of snooker’s premier tournament itself, which has been staged at the Crucible Theater in Sheffield since 1977. The current deal expires after 2027 and Hearn has long had interest from the likes of China the day to say. last year that Qatar had inquired about its future availability.
The Saudis are unlikely to stop playing tennis and snooker. The Hearns also run the Professional Darts Corporation, and the sport has never been bigger since Luke Littler’s run to the World Championship final. However, replicating the beer-fueled atmosphere of Alexandra Palace in Riyadh is difficult.
Cricket is also attracting investment, with the International Cricket Council and Indian Premier League agreeing partnerships with state-owned oil giant Aramco.
There is even talk of the country launching the lucrative Twenty20 tournament, with the cricket board’s chairman, Prince Saud bin Mishal al-Saud, declaring last year that he intends to make the nation a “world cricket destination”.
Of course, football will remain at the heart of his plans in the run-up to his all-but-confirmed hosting of the 2034 World Cup, which somehow backfired like Jordan Henderson quitting Al-Ettifaq this week without any sign on the rails.
In fact, the only major sport that has not been affected by Saudi wealth appears to be rugby, despite reports that the country may be considering staging the 2035 World Cup.
The logical conclusion of all this, of course, is a bid for the biggest sporting event of them all: the Olympics.
Saudi Arabia has already secured the 2034 Asian Games and its 2029 winter equivalent (yes, you read that right).
Previous Olympic bids from Qatar have failed amid the International Olympic Committee’s reluctance to move them outside its summer window.
But the Saudis have proven time and time again that when it comes to buying what they want, all bets are off.
