OUTGOING ATP CEO REVEALS EXPECTED DATE FOR NEW MASTERS EVENT

ATP CEO Massimo Calvelli still has a job to do before departing. (Getty/Hector Retamal)

Although scheduled to leave his role in June, ATP Chief Executive Massimo Calvelli has outlined plans to integrate a new Masters event in Saudi Arabia, tipped to commence in 2028.

Calvelli will step aside from CEO duties in midyear due to growing scepticism and angst amongst players and fans about how certain issues in the sport have been handled.

However, tennis journalist Reem Abulleil reports that the Italian is working behind the scenes on one of his final projects — Introducing a Masters 1000 to Saudi Arabia.

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Controversy has surrounded the Saudis in recent years, with fears about human rights issues since the Middle Eastern country has attempted to take over multiple sports, including football and golf.

Despite those lingering concerns, Calvelli shared that conversations about hosting a Masters tournament in the Gulf nation "are going very, very well" as excitement builds.

"The vision of bringing tennis here for the long term. The vision of making tennis part of the broader ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, from a social standpoint, from an economic standpoint, and all the many different dimensions that come with it. So we completely changed our approach in regard to Saudi Arabia," he said.

"Since the first time that I visited Saudi Arabia, it was, I want to say, two-and-a-half years ago, to today, there are 50,000 kids that are playing tennis in schools in Saudi, which is something that we are very proud of.

"The Saudi Tennis Federation has done an amazing job at promoting and facilitating that. On the back of the fact that we're taking tennis tournaments here, and we have a partnership with PIF. But we think that the ground is fertile and there is a very strong appetite here.

"We're very committed to the opportunity, and we think if we're going to bring a top-tier event, a Masters 1000 event, the outlook is potentially from 2028. By the time we get there, in terms of investments in infrastructure and the demand that we will have created together, working with the different stakeholders here, like PIF or the Saudi Tennis Federation, certainly there is going to be an incredible opportunity.

"Even more so if we can couple that with bringing the women's side, our women counterparts as well, right? That's the other side of the equation."

The outgoing ATP CEO will begin a new chapter post-June when he becomes an operating partner for American private investment firm RedBird Capital.

There are currently nine Masters 1000 events scheduled throughout the calendar year, taking place on three continents.

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