WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia can help usher bright new era for Arab female tennis

Saudi Arabia has taken its first steps towards investing in international tennis, announcing it will be hosting the next five editions of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah while submitting a bid to stage the WTA Finals.

Board meetings have been taking place this week in New York, on the sidelines of the US Open, where leaders of the women’s tour are reportedly trying to decide whether to take their flagship season-ending championships to Riyadh, or instead accept a competing bid from Prague or other host cities.

From an Arab perspective, bringing professional tennis, especially women’s tennis, to Saudi Arabia can have a huge impact, not just within the Kingdom, but on the Mena region as a whole.

Several countries across the Arab world, particularly in North Africa, are passionate about tennis and have high participation numbers but lack the resources to cater to that interest, nurture young talent, or host big events.

Meanwhile, Arab countries that have the resources, like Saudi Arabia, have historically not shown much interest in the sport. But that is changing and it can create a ripple effect across the region.

Arij Mutabagani, the president of the Saudi Arabian Tennis Federation, has spoken about the Kingdom’s plans to boost the sport from the grassroots level, while also hosting more junior ITF events for boys and girls.

She says a community tennis programme held across three cities attracted 8,000 kids between the ages of eight and 14 in its first four weeks. The federation collaborated with the Ministry of Education to hold tennis workshops in 90 schools across Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province for PE teachers and students. Workshops are also being held for tennis parents, with help from the ITF, and