The tournament director of the Australian Open says he is keeping an eye on developments regarding the possibility of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund expanding into tennis.
Craig Tiley told reporters on Tuesday that he doesn’t believe any future investment will affect the sport in a similar way it has done with golf. The PIF has invested heavily in sports over the past few years, including the £300M takeover of football team Newcastle United. In golf, they funded the LIV Tour which split the sport before a shock merger between the Tour’s was announced a few weeks ago.
Now there is speculation that Saudi Arabia’s next target is tennis. ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi has confirmed to the Financial Times that he had held ‘positive’ talks about the matter but didn’t elaborate any further. It is also understood that the country is the favourite to host the Next Gen Finals in the future which could potentially be expanded into a mixed event.
“I think what’s different is this is more an investment in the current structure of the game and not an investment in an alternative option,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Tiley as saying. “But, like everything in the world, there are lots of changes always going on, so you’ve got to watch what’s going on, and we’ve been staying close to it, but ultimately, that’s a decision for the men’s and the women’s tour.
“One thing that’s really important to note is that the four grand slams run independently … it’s most important that we take care of what we need to take care of, and that’s our five weeks of tennis in January.”
Some organizations have accused Saudi Arabia of sportswashing which is where a country invests in sports to improve its reputation that has been tarnished by wrongdoing. The country has been criticized in the past for its human rights record.
There are also questions about how LGBT sports fans would be welcomed in the country. Saudi Arabia draws its legal framework from Sharia law which prohibits homosexuality. On the country’s Tourist website, it says that ‘everyone is welcome to Saudi Arabia and visitors are not asked to disclose personal details.’ In an exchange with a member of the country’s tennis federation on social media, I asked what would happen if I or anybody else visited with a same-sex partner.
“If you came with your boyfriend and didn’t show that to the public it’s not a problem,” Adel Alqarni said in response.
“Our problem is that we don’t accept anyone forcing his ideology or culture in public. It’s against our culture, that’s it.”
Social issues aside, Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has spoken out in favour of a potential partnership between the ATP and PIF occurring. On Twitter, he retweeted a report of the Guadenzi’s talks with the caption ‘Finally they see the value. We are going to get paid what we deserve to get paid. Sign me up.” World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz has also recently said he expects to be playing tournaments in Saudi Arabia in the future.
In response to Kyrgios’ suggestion that players are not getting paid enough, Tiley said he would always welcome more prize money being awarded in the sport.
“We’ve done it as a grand slam – we’ve done the best we can to compensate the players. In fact, this year there was over $100 million in prize money on offer for a period of four weeks, for both men and women,” he said.
“Our view is that if men get paid a certain amount, the women need to be paid the same amount, and vice versa, so we’ve always held that position and always will hold that position.
“The more players, not just the top players, who can make a good living, the healthier it is for the sport.”
According to the BBC, the current value of the PIF stands at £514bn and is controlled by Saudi Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
