Saudi Arabia has been the center of attention in the tennis world for quite some time now. After a series of ebb and flow, finally, the Arab nation got the chance to host an ATP event. However, even after making the headlines for weeks, there has been a low turnout of fans at the ATP Next Gen Finals. Fans have now stepped in to take a jibe at the Tennis Federation.

The season-ending tournament presented by NEOM features the top 8 men’s U21 players. It is scheduled from November 28 to December 2 at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. ATP has signed a deal with Saudi authorities, which would ensure them as the host for Next Gen Finals for a period of 5 years. Traditionally, it was held in Milan since 2017. Now, with this new move, everyone was keen to see the response from the crowd in the Gulf Nation. 

Tennis fans react to the worrying scenes from Next Gen Finals in Saudi Arabia

Even though the country faces heavy criticism over its human rights records. Saudi Arabia has pumped a huge amount of money into the sports industry recently. Even here, they have announced a record amount of prize money for the tournament- $ 2M, where the winner will earn a staggering $ 514,000. Despite all its efforts to lure the best on the court, it has failed to attract the crowd so far. 

“One thing we probably haven’t discussed enough in the loudening Saudi tennis conversation is how god-awful the turnout has been at the tennis events held there recently. Including last year’s Diriyah Cup exhibition which had tons of top ATP names,” wrote Ben Rothenberg. Even the fans came out, all guns blazing about the horrific scenes from Saudi Arabia. Here’s how they reacted to his tweet.

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One of the fans agreed to his remark, citing this turnout is pretty much sad for the sport. He even mentioned this wouldn’t have happened if it had been held in Milan.

Aligning to the above comment, one of them said even the attendance at the much heralded Saudi Pro League isn’t good either.

Another one showcased his anger towards the organizers of such mega events and authorities sitting at the head of ATP and WTA. There have been numerous such incidents this year that have put a question mark on their priorities. The fan exactly highlighted that with his tweet.

The other fan took the famous lines from Buckminster Fuller, saying, “you can make money or you can make sense.”

Few of them highlighted the alleged “sportswashing” rumors against Saudi Arabia.

Despite all these controversies, the Kingdom has tried its luck at several events this year. It will be interesting to see how Saudi Arabia overcomes these challenges and becomes a successful host.

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Saudi Arabia has been in the limelight of the tennis world

After investing heavily in soccer and F1, Saudi Arabia is now keen to spread its wings around the racket sport. But this has turned out to be a quite challenging move for even the rich nation. But they haven’t given up yet as Saudi officials have been in talks with top executives of the tennis world for multiple potential investments.

Recently, the ATP was in discussion with Saudi Arabia to stage a new masters tournament, which would finish just days before the AO. They even tried their luck to get this year’s WTA Finals event, but Cancun won it eventually. But with just a year contract with Cancun, a possible move for the women’s event in Saudi Arabia is always on the cards.

There have been several other developments in the Gulf nation that have recently kept the fans on their toes. Do you think the authorities need to think once again about Saudi Arabia as a host?

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