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Saudi Arabia 'in fifth gear' but is it 'right' for women's tennis to go there?

Related Topics: Saudi Arabia, Carlos Alcaraz

Saudi Arabia took its first sanctioned step into professional tennis this week, and it is very unlikely to be the last.

The field at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah may not yet be household names, but both Saudi Arabia and the ATP Tour hope the kingdom will see plenty of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the years ahead.

And even more symbolically, given the subjugation faced by generations of Saudi women, the season-ending WTA Finals are soon expected to put down roots in the country.

"Like the Next Gen Finals, we would like to have the event for multiple years," Saudi tennis president Arij Almutabagani, who in 2021 became the first woman elected to run one of the country's sports federations, told BBC Sport.