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The ATP men's professional tennis tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund agreed on Wednesday to a five-year partnership with Saudi Arabia as the league's primary sponsor. This is the latest in a series of Saudi investments in professional sports.
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As part of the agreement, Saudi Arabian wealth fund PIF will have naming rights to the ATP Rankings, which was previously sponsored by Australian online trading company Pepperstone, ATP announced on Wednesday.
ATP said in a statement that PIF will also partner with ATP for other events in Beijing, Indian Wells, Madrid and Miami.
Before Wednesday's announcement, Saudi Arabia had signed a deal to host the Next Generation ATP Finals, a tournament for young players, in Jeddah from 2023 to 2027.
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Women's tennis is also exploring the possibility of partnering with Saudi Arabia. The WTA Women's Tennis Tour is reportedly in talks with Saudi Arabia to host the WTA Finals in the country.
Main background
This is the latest in a series of investments Saudi Arabia has made in professional sports in recent years. Most notably, PIF has made a major investment in professional golf, allocating billions of dollars to launch LIV Golf as a direct competitor to the PGA Tour in 2022. With that money, LIV scouted some of the most famous golfers on the PGA Tour and challenged the PGA's control of professional golf. Then, last year, competing golf tours suddenly announced a merger, surprising the world. Saudi Arabia is investing to host major soccer tournaments in the country, including the 2027 Asian Cup and the 2023 Club World Cup. Saudi Arabia also appears to be interested in investing in F1 after signing a 10-year deal to host F1 races in 2020. Bloomberg reported that PIF is considering a $20 billion bid for F1 in 2022. This significant investment in sport is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030, a government program aimed at diversifying the oil-rich country. economy.
Contra
Some athletes have criticized the growing ties between professional sports and Saudi Arabia. The country has been accused of “sportswashing” and engaging with sports in an attempt to distract from its own human rights abuses. Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Council criticized Saudi Arabia's restrictions on LGBTQ+ people. Same-sex relationships are punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, and all forms of LGBTQ+ advocacy are banned in the country. Saudi Arabia also faced criticism from President Joe Biden and others over bin Salman's role in the 2018 murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi.
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