- Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has addressed claims of a pressure tactic
- Reports suggested it presented a final offer of £1.5 billion ($2 billion) in a 90-day deadline.
- However, the PIF denies this, stating their offer is collaborative and lacks an expiration date
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has addressed claims of a pressure tactic in their merger proposal for the ATP and WTA Tours respectively.
Reports suggested it presented a final offer of £1.5 billion ($2 billion) in a 90-day deadline. However, the PIF denies this, stating their offer is collaborative and lacks an expiration date, the Guardian reports.
What Does Public Investment Fund Want With ATP and WTA Tours?
The Public Investment fund offer involves £780 million ($1 billion) each to ATP and WTA, which will create a unified tour under current ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.
Under this reported deal, there will be a new 10th Masters 1000 tournament in Saudi Arabia added to the tennis calendar. Gaudenzi will cease his current position and take up the role of a commissioner under the PIF.
Saudi Arabia is edging Closer to a successful takeover of tennis. Photo/Khaleej Times
Did Saudi Arabia’s PIF Offer WTA and ATP Tour $2 Billion?
Although it was stated that the offer had a 90-day expiration date, the PIF has since addressed rumours that they gave the tours a deadline before abandoning them.
Sources told The Guardian that there is no deadline for the proposal and that the rumours were unfounded.
The PIF desires to integrate into the existing model of the men’s and women’s tour rather than attempt to acquire the sport according to Saudi sources.
They plan to work in collaboratively with the tennis authorities as they currently exist. Gaudenzi reportedly addressed the offer at the Indian Wells taking into account the proposed tour model under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Those in attendance at the first briefing discussed a circuit that would see the best players participate in an elite 14-tournament tour. Representatives from the ATP Tour and WTA attended the first meeting.
In addition, representatives from the French Open, US Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open as well as tournament directors of all nine Masters Events attended this meeting.
What Tennis Changes Will There Be Under PIF Takeover?
From the most recent meeting, Gaudenzi explained that the premium tournament models under PIF will comprise the Grand Slams, 10 Masters events, a team competition and a combined season-ending championships.
Existing 500 and 250-point tournaments will be downgraded to a new ‘Contender Tour’, according to The Telegraph. The proposal is the brainchild of Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley.
Tiley is said to be threatened by Saudi’s hopes of staging a Masters 1000 tournament at the beginning of the year. His reservation is that this will take the spot of the current United Cup – a mixed-gender event created by Tiley and Tennis Australia.
It is understood that this may be the reason he is so keen to push the Premium Tour model, giving the Grand Slams more say in the top tour-level events.
The Australian Open hosts the first Grand Slam of the year and it has become so competitive over the past years.
The PIF has already taken big strides in tennis, announcing a multi-year partnership with the ATP last month. The Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund became the naming sponsor for the ATP rankings and will present the year-end No. 1 trophy to the player that ends the year in the top spot.
As part of the agreement, PIF will partner with official tour events in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing, and the elite ATP Finals currently being staged in Turin.
Rafael Nadal in Saudi Arabia. Photo/English Jargan
Their logo has already been seen on the courts at the current Indian Wells Masters.
Saudi Arabia also stages the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. The first edition of a five-year deal was staged in December, with Hamad Medjedovic winning the title.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal stands as the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF) ambassador. The Spaniard was appointed as the STF’s tennis ambassador in a successful attempt to persuade Saudi Arabian investors to purchase an ATP Tour and WTA share.
Nadal expressed his excitement at being the new face of tennis in the Middle East, where initiatives are afoot to popularize the game, in a statement addressed to his supporters.
Being an STF ambassador, according to Nadal, gives the next generation of athletes hope for better times in the sport.
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