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The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has officially announced the launch of a new Masters 1000 tournament to be held annually in Saudi Arabia starting as early as 2028, marking a historic expansion of the elite men’s tennis circuit.
The new event set to be played on hard courts and scheduled at the start of the season will run for one week in a Saudi city yet to be revealed. The move represents the first expansion of the ATP Masters 1000 series since its inception in 1990, underscoring Saudi Arabia’s accelerating role as a global sporting destination.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, speaking during a press conference in Paris, hailed the decision as “a proud moment for us and the result of a journey that’s been years in the making.”
The Saudi Masters will join the prestigious lineup of existing tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai, and Paris, elevating the total number of Masters 1000 events to ten.
Partnership with SURJ Sports Investments
The tournament will be organized in partnership with SURJ Sports Investments, a company with close ties to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). While financial details remain undisclosed, the collaboration further cements PIF’s growing footprint in global tennis and its strategic efforts to diversify Saudi Arabia’s sports portfolio.
The PIF has already sponsored ATP rankings and partnered with several existing Masters tournaments, including those in Miami, Madrid, and Indian Wells.
Expanding Saudi Arabia’s Tennis Vision
A Saudi source close to the agreement noted that the tournament aligns perfectly with the Kingdom’s long-term sports development strategy:
“Tennis is one of the sports that we believe will grow massively in the Kingdom. With the existing infrastructure and the strong interest among youth, it ticks all the boxes in terms of PIF’s vision.”
Saudi Arabia’s push into tennis began gaining momentum in recent years, with the Next Gen ATP Finals moving to Jeddah in 2023 and the WTA Finals debuting in Riyadh in 2024 both regarded as milestones in the country’s expanding sporting landscape.
Player Freedom and Tour Balance
Unlike other Masters 1000 events, the Saudi tournament will not be mandatory for players, allowing greater flexibility in their schedules.
“Our open system offers freedom and options for players to choose where they want to compete,” Gaudenzi explained. “The new event complements our vision of global growth without overburdening athletes.”
The announcement follows a season of player discussions around tour fatigue and the intense calendar stretching from January to November.
A New Chapter for Global Tennis
With the addition of the Saudi Masters, the ATP embarks on a new era of expansion that blends tradition with innovation and opens a new chapter for the sport in the Middle East.
As the Kingdom continues to attract world-class sporting events from Formula 1 and boxing to football and now elite tennis the 2028 Saudi Masters 1000 is poised to become a cornerstone of the global tennis calendar.
