Saudi tennis chief plans sport’s growth in Kingdom, praises Ons Jabeur’s impact

When Saudi Tennis Federation president Arij Almutabagani attended the iconic Wimbledon Championships in 2022, her sojourn to southwest London was quiet and uneventful. Fast forward 12 months and it was a different story.

In the buildup to the 2023 tournament, reports surfaced that the Association of Tennis Professionals, who run the men’s professional tour, were in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund about a substantial new investment akin to the organization’s much-publicized foray into golf.

Suddenly, Almutabagani was in demand. 

“The announcement of the ATP and PIF discussions changed things very quickly,” Almutabagani told Arab News. “The experience at Wimbledon this year was different. People were asking about what is happening, and of course increased the interest in potentially hosting events in Saudi Arabia.

“This felt like such a positive development and shows that the work of the past few years and the support of our Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, has led to this moment. Now it is time for tennis to play a more important role in Saudi Arabia and there is huge potential for us to build the sport.”

It is a build that requires strong foundations and, in a nation so dominated by football, Almutabagani has been doing her utmost to lay a solid base for tennis since her appointment as STF president on a four-year term in 2021. She quickly put together a board to support her and set about growing the sport of tennis from the bottom up.

“My primary concern is junior tennis because these kids are the future,” Almutabagani explained. “We want to develop players who can enjoy tennis for their whole lives and show them that there are many ways to be part of tennis — not just as an