​Journalists of The Times report on an important change in the ATP tournament: Saudi Arabia will receive the organization of the Masters tournament (ATP 1000).

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak DjokovicPhoto: MATTHEW STOCKMAN / Getty images / Profimedia

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ATP 1000 in Saudi Arabia – the calendar of the beginning of the year will be turned upside down

The cited source says that the agreement with ATP representatives has already been concluded and only official confirmation is missing.

Recently, there are more and more rumors about the organization of an important competition in Saudi Arabia.

There was an assumption that one of the nine licenses for the track (that’s how many Masters tournaments there are at the moment) would be bought by the Arabs.

However, The Times provides another extravagant piece of information: Saudi Arabia will host the 10th Masters tournament, and it will take place at the beginning of the year.

More precisely, finish a week before the start of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year this year. The Melbourne Major usually starts around January 14-15 (in 2024 it will be held from January 14-28).

The tournament in Riyadh will take place in the last days of December 2024 and the first days of January 2025.

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Competitions such as the United Cup (a tournament for national teams) and competitions such as ATP Brisbane, Adelaide or Auckland (all 250 categories) will be affected by the change, Eurosport said.

Athletes will no longer attach such great importance to participating in the above competitions, given that the tournament in Riyadh will be a category 1000 tournament.

The competition in Saudi Arabia would have a total prize pool of around €7 million, with the big winner walking away with a check for €1 million.

Under these conditions, it is hard to believe that the best players will choose to play on the ATP in Brisbane, Adelaide or Auckland, which are preparatory tournaments for the Australian Open.

There are currently nine 1000 license tournaments on the ATP circuit. They are: Indian Wells, Miami (both outdoor), Monte Carlo (outdoor), Madrid (outdoor), Rome (outdoor), Canada (alternately Montreal/Toronto). – hard outdoor), Cincinnati (hard outdoor), Shanghai (hard outdoor) and Paris (hard indoor).