(Reuters) – World number one Carlos Alcaraz has “no doubts” he will compete in Saudi Arabia at some point and said the country has the power to hold plenty of tournaments after the ATP Tour began talks about a potential partnership with its sovereign wealth fund.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi told the Financial Times last week he has held discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and other potential investors on projects including infrastructure, events and technology investment.
The report quoted Gaudenzi as saying any potential investors had to respect the history of the sport and work with current stakeholders.
Alcaraz said Saudi Arabia has “the power to have a lot of tournaments”.
“I’ve never played an official tournament over there, and let’s see how it is going to be in the future,” he said after his Queen’s Club win on Sunday.
“But, well, I have no doubts that I’ll play over there in the future.”
Critics have accused the PIF of being a vehicle for the country to improve its reputation — “sportswashing” — as it faces criticism of its human rights record.
Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.
While Saudi Arabia has not hosted an ATP tournament several top players including Daniil Medvedev and Stan Wawrinka have competed in the Diriyah Cup exhibition event, which held its second edition last year.
Talk of a potential partnership comes after the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit ended a two-year dispute with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and announced an agreement to merge and form one unified commercial entity.
Saudi Arabia has also pumped huge amounts of money into soccer, Formula One and boxing. Reports earlier this year said Jeddah was among the bidders for the ATP’s Next Gen Finals which features the top Under-21 players.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
