Saudi Arabia to host Next Gen ATP Finals for next five years

The Association of Tennis Professionals has announced that the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah will host the Next Gen ATP Finals from the end of this year through to 2027.

The first edition of the tournament will take place over five days - 28th November to 2nd December 2023 - on indoor hard courts at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City.

The ATP’s announcement of the new venue for its men's youth exhibition tennis tournament follows a competitive bid process launched in March 2023, with the support of Deloitte’s Sport Business Group. The process evaluated host cities from multiple regions against criteria including venue, international connectivity, and potential to grow professional tennis in a new market.

In addition to delivering record prize money of $2 million for players, Jeddah’s successful bid, led by the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF), makes history as the first official professional tennis event to take place in Saudi Arabia.

Announcing the hosting arrangements, ATP Chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi stated "the ATP Tour is truly global and exploring new markets is central to growing the game. Bringing the Next Gen ATP Finals to Jeddah is our chance to inspire new fans, in a region with a vast young population, and unite audiences around tennis. Our congratulations go to Jeddah and the Saudi Tennis Federation.

“We look forward to building on the event’s incredible success together.”

With the ATP Tour having a more than 30-year presence in the Middle East, tennis is a fast growing sport in Saudi Arabia.

The ATP advise that recreational clinics are at full capacity across the country, reflecting STF’s commitment to raising awareness and fostering interest among the Kingdom’s young and sport-enthusiastic population.

Ambitious participation targets, an increase in the number of international tennis competitions, and establishing tennis as the marquee gender-equal sport in Saudi Arabia, have all been set as objectives in line with Vision 2030, which aspires to turn the Kingdom into a major sports, entertainment and tourism hub.

STF President, Arij Mutabagani advised “we are extremely proud that ATP has selected Jeddah to host such an important tennis event. The Next Gen ATP Finals embodies the philosophy of our Federation, which is to inspire young talent to reach the sport’s highest levels. We’re excited to collaborate to promote the ATP Tour’s most promising rising stars, and showcase new sporting innovations, in our special city of Jeddah.”

First launched in 2017, the Next Generation or Next Gen ATP Finals showcase the world’s best 21-and-under players in a fast-paced year-end format.

Notably, nine of the current Top 10 players in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings having competed at the event, highlighting its role in showcasing the future stars of the sport.

Past champions like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have used the event as a stepping-stone to further success in their careers.

The event also serves as a platform to test rule changes, new technologies and innovations in the sport, many of which have gone on to be incorporated on the ATP Tour.

The first five editions of Next Gen ATP have taken place in the Italian city of Milan.