By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday May 20, 2024
Saudi Arabia and the WTA Tour have strenghthened their working relationship.
On Monday the Tour unveiled a multi-year partnership with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The PIF will become the first-ever naming partner of the WTA Rankings. Additionally, PIF will work with the WTA to expand existing initiatives and develop new opportunities for young players, with the goal of boosting the profiles of the game’s next generations of stars.
It’s another step in the growing investment made by the Saudis in the sport of tennis.
In February we learned that the WTA Finals will be in Saudi Arabia starting this year, as part of a three-year deal that will increase the prize money for this November's season-ending championship to a record $15.25 million, a 70 percent increase from 2023.
In February PIF also announced its partnership with the ATP and became the official naming partner of the PIF ATP Rankings, which makes the PIF the only global partner across both the WTA and ATP Tours.
Additionally, PIF has also partnered with combined WTA 1000 and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid, in addition to the Beijing WTA 1000 and ATP 500 events.
“We are delighted to welcome PIF as a Global Partner of the WTA and our first-ever official naming partner of the WTA Rankings,” said Marina Storti, the CEO of WTA ventures. “Together, we look forward to sharing the journey of our talented players across the season, as we continue to grow the sport, creating more fans of tennis and inspiring more young people to take up the game.”