The Next Gen Finals will move away from Jeddah next year, with the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF) opting out of their five-year deal with the ATP Tour.
The Next Gen Finals, which features the top eight players in the world aged 20 and under, was the first professional tennis tournament to be staged in the kingdom when it made its Saudi Arabian debut back in 2023.
It was announced as a five-year agreement between the STF and the ATP and was meant to stay in Jeddah through 2027.
But The National has learnt that this year’s edition, scheduled from December 17 to 21 at King Abdullah Sports City, will be the last staging of the tournament on Saudi Arabian shores.
The ATP is now open to bids from cities willing to host the event, which has proven to be a successful platform for young players looking to step up the ranks and make an early statement in their budding careers.
The Next Gen Finals was introduced to the tour in 2017 and was held in Milan through 2022 before moving to Jeddah.
Besides showcasing the top talent on the men’s tour, the tournament has also been used to test out innovative rules and technology that could be adopted in bigger events.
Stars like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are among the the Next Gen Finals champions who have gone on to become world No 1 and clinched multiple-time grand slam winners.
Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic won the first Next Gen Finals title in Jeddah in 2023, while Brazilian phenom Joao Fonseca lifted the trophy last year.
The ATP now has just over a year to find a new host city for the tournament.
Since the signing of the Next Gen Finals deal with the ATP, Saudi Arabia has added more tennis events to its calendar, including the ongoing WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Two weeks ago, it was announced that a Masters 1000 tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia as early as 2028, which marks the first-ever expansion of the tournament category in ATP Tour history.
The National has reached out to the STF for comment.
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Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
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Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
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Empty Words
By Mario Levrero
(Coffee House Press)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
