Tennis: Saudi Arabia will host the next three Women’s Masters
After Cancun, Riyadh. Organized in Mexico last year, the end-of-season Masters, bringing together the eight best players of the year, will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2024, like the following two years. In a press release published Thursday April 4, the WTA announced an agreement with the Saudi Tennis Federation to organize the next three editions of the Masters. The first lifting will be held from November 2 to 9, 2024.
The WTA welcomes an agreement which “will offer a record endowment of $15.25 million” in 2024, an amount expected to increase by the body for subsequent editions. This partnership represents continuity in the “significant growth of sport in Saudi Arabia” according to the WTA, after the organization of several exhibition matches and the “Next Gen” men’s Masters (under 22) in Jeddah in 2023.
WTA President Steve Simon welcomes “new opportunity for us and a positive step for the long-term growth of women’s tennis as a global and inclusive sport.” Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF) recently became the “official partner” of the ATP rankings. As part of this partnership, the PIF will also be associated with several major tournaments and the end-of-year men’s Masters. Since 2023 and until 2027, the Masters Next Gen, a test tournament for new rules and which brings together the eight best players under 22, is also organized in the kingdom.
Already considered last year, the organization of the Women’s Masters in Saudi Arabia had provoked numerous criticisms, particularly linked to women’s rights in the kingdom.
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