With Indian Wells now finally underway and the excitement of Masters 1000 tennis upon fans and players alike, it brings to mind the proposed idea to host one of these coveted events in Saudi Arabia.
Currently there are nine, commencing in the Californian desert and concluding in the French capital of Paris for the indoor tournament that serves as a prelude to the ATP Finals.
The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) has set its sights on taking tennis by storm, already securing hosting rights for the ATP NextGen Finals as well as the WTA Finals, with both events taking place in its capital, Riyadh.
Having already splashed its cash at Formula One and football, some of the world’s best and most marketable athletes have already made their way to the shores of the Gulf Nation over recent years.
One reason for that is financial incentives, something which Carlos Alcaraz was honest about during his participation in the inaugural Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi last October.
"I love playing tennis. Most of the time I don't think about the money. I just play for love or for fun," Alcaraz told reporters. "But you have to be realistic. You have to think that you want to earn money, and that's it. In Arabia [it's] the most, highest prize money ever... so that was a good motivation, at least for me."
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It seems that it is only a matter of time before the announcement of a Saudi Masters arrives, with rumours circling that February will be the likely month for the proposed 10th Masters 1000 to be staged.
Tournaments such as Dubai and Doha are already part of the calendar in the second month of the year, and the PIF strives to make it a Middle Eastern swing that brings players of the highest ilk that may be plying their trade elsewhere.
For example, world No.2 Alexander Zverev and No.4 Taylor Fritz were in Mexico's Acapulco, while many others have been in South America for the clay court swing, the continent's only exposure to the sport outside the Davis and Billie Jean King Cups.
That leads to the argument that jamming this proposed tournament into the year’s busiest month would be a mistake of monumental proportions.
Starting with the case that Masters events focus on the top echelon performing well and being the major drawcards, it strips opportunities away for many players to gain significant ranking points to springboard their seasons.
This proposed event will create a bottleneck for players outside the top-50, with many inside the top-100 possibly forced into qualifying as everyone scrambles to be involved in such a high points earner.
It will result in copious amounts being forced to miss out on vital match practice that they would most likely receive from the influx of tournaments staged in February. In addition, this proposed event would no doubt destroy many events, including those in South America and the USA, some of which have invested significantly in bringing the sport to their cities.
The First Serve has recently seen the adoration for tennis in cities such as Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, with stadiums at maximum capacity throughout the entirety of their running, including qualifying.
What would happen to these tournaments if a Masters 1000 was just dropped into the calendar?
It can't fit into March because of Indian Wells and Miami, nor April and May due to players preferring to be on European clay ahead of Roland Garros.
Demoting them to Challenger tournaments would be ineffective, not to mention a huge slap in the face for people like Argentina Open Tournament Director Martín Jaite, who have invested multiple decades into growing the sport within their nations and cities.
Dallas was recently upgraded to ATP 500 status and invested a vast amount of time and money to move to a new venue at the Ford Center, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. What happens to this tournament? Or Delray Beach?
Doha and Dubai may be saved as they will be part of this proposed swing, but if they are moved to earlier slots, what about Rotterdam, Montpellier and Marseille?
Another solution to save tournaments would be to extend the calendar, but pre-seasons are short enough and most players are already complaining that the seasons are too long, so that can be ruled out completely.
The Saudis are admirably ambitious, but the ATP must look at sense and not the dollar signs. Easier said than done, of course.
Send the ATP Finals to Riyadh if you like, but the organisation simply cannot allow money to dictate its calendar and destroy such heart-and-soul tournaments, because that is exactly what it will do.
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