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Tennis will hold a professional event in Saudi Arabia for the first time after a five-year deal was agreed for Jeddah to host the Next Gen ATP Finals.<\/p>\n
The season-ender for the best men under 21 has featured world number one Carlos Alcaraz and top-10 players Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas in recent years.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia has invested huge amounts of money into football, golf, Formula 1 and boxing in recent years.<\/p>\n
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But the nation has long been criticised for its\u00a0poor human rights record.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s rights campaigners have been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, despite some reform under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, such as an end to the ban on women driving.<\/p>\n
The Saudi state has also been criticised for its criminalisation of homosexuality, the restriction of free speech and the use of the death penalty, with campaigners calling Saudi\u2019s human rights record \u201catrocious\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a statement announcing the deal on Thursday, ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said \u201cexploring new markets is central to growing the game\u201d, adding: \u201cBringing the Next Gen ATP Finals to Jeddah is our chance to inspire new fans, in a region with a vast young population, and unite audiences around tennis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s former world number one Andy Murray has said previously he would not compete there and had turned down offers of up to \u00a31.5m to play exhibition events in the Gulf state in recent years.<\/p>\n
However, in July he said he had not ruled out playing in Saudi Arabia if ATP Tour events \u2013 with rankings points \u2013 are held there.<\/p>\n
Spanish world number one Alcaraz, 20, previously said he had \u201cno doubts\u201d he would compete in Saudi Arabia at some point and added the country has the power to hold plenty of tournaments.<\/p>\n
Host cities from multiple regions were considered in the bid process before Jeddah was selected. This will be the first official professional tennis event to take place in Saudi Arabia, which has hosted several lucrative exhibition matches already.<\/p>\n
The Next Gen Finals, which have often trialled new rules and innovations for the game, had been held in Milan since the first edition in 2017. The indoor hard-court event will now move to Jeddah in November and will offer a record $2m (\u00a31.6m) in prize money.<\/p>\n
Arij Mutabagani, president of the Saudi Tennis Federation, said her organisation was \u201cextremely proud\u201d to be hosting the event and that \u201cthe Next Gen ATP Finals embodies the philosophy of our Federation, which is to inspire young talent to reach the sport\u2019s highest levels\u201d.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia has also reportedly approached the women\u2019s tour about hosting an event, which could potentially be the prestigious end-of-season finals.<\/p>\n
The WTA Tour \u201ccan\u2019t walk away from\u201d the Saudi question, but there are still \u201ctons of issues\u201d to be resolved, chief executive Steve Simon has said.<\/p>\n
Jeddah is also the host of Saudi Arabia\u2019s Formula 1 race, which first ran in 2021, while the country\u2019s Public Investment Fund purchased Premier League side Newcastle United in the same year.<\/p>\n
The PIF also\u00a0merged with the PGA Tour earlier this year\u00a0and\u00a0took control of four Saudi Pro League football clubs\u00a0\u2013 Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr \u2013 earlier this summer as the country\u2019s lavish spending on household name players ramped up.<\/p>\n
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