Tennis has some clear losers as Saudi Arabian money is pulled out of the sport
Plenty of sports around the globe were happy to jump on board the Saudi Arabian train as they big money was flashed before their eyes in recent years and tennis will now be impacted in a big way by their decision to pull their money out of sport.
Golf’s breakaway LIV Tour has been left rudderless amid rumours that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will no longer support a lavish cash outlay on a breakaway tour that has sent shockwaves through the sport in recent years.
The biggest names in boxing have also been happy to offer gushing praise to their Saudi paymasters in recent years, with that sport now wondering whether the big money days are coming to an end.
Snooker has also been hit as the most lucrative event in the sport will no longer be taking place in Saudi Arabia, despite claims PIF had committed to backing the event in a ten-year deal.
Now the impact on tennis is being assessed, with the women’s game set to take a big hit after embracing the Saudi money as they agreed to stage their end-of-season WTA Finals in the kingdom.
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Woefully attended matches in a modest venue were the trade-off for selling out for the Saudi gold, with the players emerging as big winners.
Elena Rybakina collected the biggest prize money haul in tennis history when she was handed $5.235 million following her win in the WTA Finals last November.
The ATP’s Next Gen Finals have also been staged in Saudi Arabia in recent years, but both tournaments look set to be staged elsewhere in the future.
It remains to be seen whether the proposed ATP Masters 1000 tournament that was due to be staged in Saudi Arabia as early as next year will now go ahead, with PIF pulling out of many pre-signed agreements in recent weeks as they have scaled back their investment in sport.
The WTA Tour are certain to be concerned about the developments, as they were struggling to find a home for their WTA Finals after losing their connections with China amid the Covid pandemic.
While legends of the game like Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova expressed strong objections to the move to take the women’s game to a nation that has rarely put women on a pedestal, the cash on offer ended any debate over the decision that would be made.
Now tennis is among the sports set to suffer for making vocal efforts to promote Saudi Arabia in return for taking their events to the country and accepting the riches they were offering.
If the WTA Tour fail to find a backer to promote their end-of-season event, as they were struggling to do until the Saudi offer came in, there is a very good chance that prize money for that event will drop dramatically.
The US city of Charlotte is believed to be a contender to take over the hosting duties for the WTA Finals, but this tournament has been beset by challenges in recent years.
And after making such a bold stance by moving their event to Riyadh, their eagerness to promote the Arab nation has not been backed up by loyalty from what proved to be unreliable partners.
