Mar 20, 2022; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Taylor Fritz (USA) holds the championship trophy after defeating Rafael Nadal (ESP) in the men’s final at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Tennis and Saudi Arabia; these words aren’t what you’d expect to feature in the same sentence. However, the fact is that Saudi Arabia is ready to welcome tennis with open arms, and it’s looking likelier with each passing day that tennis will accept the Middle Eastern Kingdom’s embrace. The NextGen Finals is on the verge of moving from Italy’s capital Milan to Saudi Arabia’s center of commerce, Jeddah. It’s a tournament created in 2017 for showcasing the best young talent tennis has to offer.
For Saudi Arabia, hosting the NextGen Finals would mark its first steps into the world of tennis. At the same time, the world of tennis is also set to benefit from the vast financial reserves the country boasts.
So far, competitive tennis has been a distant dream for Saudi Arabia
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No one can deny Saudi Arabia’s rich history. However, when it comes to tennis, the country has so far drawn an embarrassing blank. In fact, it is yet to host its first competitive professional tennis match.
In December 2022, Saudi Arabia hosted the Diriyah Tennis Cup, which saw the participation of several iconic men’s players. However, it wasn’t a competitive tournament. It was an exhibition tournament.
USA Today via Reuters Oct 13, 2021; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Taylor Fritz (USA) celebrates as he defeated Jannik Sinner (ITA) in their fourth round match during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Diriyah Tennis Cup featured the likes of Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Despite the tournament’s exhibition status, the prize money on offer was a whopping $1 million for the winner. This served as motivation enough for Kyrgios, who chose the exhibition tournament over the Australia team for the Davis Cup. Ultimately, Taylor Fritz took home the money after a hard-fought contest against Daniil Medvedev.
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When it comes to women’s tennis, Saudi Arabia still has a long way to go
Right now, Saudi Arabia’s conservative stance towards the participation of women in sports is a stumbling block for the future prospects of women’s tennis in the country. If the NextGen Masters does move to Jeddah, the first couple of years are almost surely going to be exclusively men’s tournaments.
via Reuters Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 22, 2023 Coco Gauff of the U.S. during press conference after losing her fourth round match against Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko REUTERS/Loren Elliott TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Despite the likelihood of the 2023 NextGen Masters being an all-men’s affair, it’s not all doom and gloom. This year, the tournament is set to benefit from Saudi Arabia’s financial prosperity. The winner this time will walk away with a whopping $2.5 million.
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