ATP Tour collaborates with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to enhance sports investments

The Saudi government-controlled Public Investment Fund (PIF) has partnered with the ATP Tour in a new agreement. This collaboration, announced on Wednesday, is described as a "multi-year strategic partnership" between the men's professional tennis tour and the PIF.

ATP CEO Massimo Calvelli called the arrangement “a major moment for tennis.”

Photo Illustration by Alberto Mier/CNN/Getty

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“It’s a shared commitment to propel the future of the sport,” Calvelli said.

PIF's commitment to the future generation, promoting innovation and expanding opportunities for everyone, paves the way for a groundbreaking era of advancement.

Mohamed AlSayyad, PIF's corporate brand leader, stated: "This collaboration is in line with our overarching goal to improve the standard of living and revolutionize the sports industry in Saudi Arabia and globally."

Calvelli praised the ATP deal, while tennis legends Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert expressed reservations about the reported hosting of the women's tour WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia, considering it a "step backward."

In a piece for the Washington Post earlier this year, Navratilova and Evert voiced their worries regarding the kingdom's track record on women's rights, human rights, and LGBTQ rights.

The two former tennis stars highlighted that this country not only lacks gender equality but also enforces a male guardianship law that treats women as possessions of men.

Furthermore, they pointed out that this country goes as far as criminalizing the LGBTQ community, potentially leading to death sentences. The long-standing issues regarding human rights and basic freedoms in this country have been a cause for international worry for many years.

The kingdom has denied accusations of "sportswashing," a practice in which countries utilize major sporting events to improve their international reputation and divert attention from potential misconduct.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) continues to make strategic investments in the sports industry worldwide, with the recent ATP deal being a testament to their commitment.

In a new tennis tournament called the "6 Kings Slam," scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October, top players such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinnner are set to compete, as reported by the Saudi press agency.

In 2021, the PIF bankrolled LIV Golf, reportedly at a cost of $2 billion, attracting many of the sport’s top players away from the US-based PGA Tour and Europe-based DP World Tour by offering big dollar prize money. Last year, the US-based PGA Tour announced it was set to partner with the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf.

Meanwhile, four PIF-owned soccer teams – Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli – spent nearly $900 million (€835.1 million) last year on buying elite international players as the European summer transfer window closed, according to Transfermarkt data.

The world's highest paid soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has a two-year contract with Al-Nassr and will earn an estimated $200 million a year, is now joined by newly acquired players in the team.

The PIF, which leads the investment group owning English Premier League team Newcastle United, took over the club in 2021.

The PIF is the world’s sixth largest sovereign wealth fund with assets of $776 billion, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute

Editor's P/S:

The PIF's partnership with the ATP Tour highlights the increasing involvement of Saudi Arabia in the global sports industry. While the PIF's stated goals of promoting innovation and expanding opportunities are commendable, the concerns raised by Navratilova and Evert about the country's human rights record must be taken seriously. The kingdom's track record on women's rights, LGBTQ rights, and freedom of expression is concerning, and it is important to ensure that these issues are not swept under the rug in the pursuit of sporting success.

The PIF's investments in sports, from golf to soccer to tennis, raise questions about the extent to which Saudi Arabia is using sportswashing to improve its international image. It is important to remember that sports should be about competition, fair play, and bringing people together, not about political agendas or attempts to cover up human rights abuses. While the PIF's investments may bring economic benefits to Saudi Arabia, they should not come at the expense of fundamental human rights and freedoms.