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It is no mystery that ATP tour is laying the foundations for the revolution that will take place in the coming years. PIF has become one of the main sponsors of the ATP, the Next Gen ATP Finals have moved to Jeddah, and it has long been rumored that Saudi Arabia will have a top tournament very soon.
ATP has already made official the calendar for next season, which does not include very significant changes and which will follow the usual guidelines with a few small exceptions. However between 2027 and 2028 a very important change should take place that will mark the beginning of a new one for the men's tour and for tennis in general.
In October last year, some of the world's best players including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic traveled to Saudi Arabia to participate in the 'Six Kings Slam', an exhibition tournament with the highest prize money in tennis history.
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Each participant was guaranteed an incredible compensation and the winner Sinner pocketed about 6 million dollars. Rafa Nadal also participated in that exhibition, before saying goodbye to professional tennis at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga the following month.
Caujolle's previews
In an interview with 'L'Equipe', Jean-Francois Caujolle former tennis player and current director of the Marseille ATP 250 anticipated the changes that the ATP calendar is set to undergo in the near future: "It is no secret that a new Masters 1000 scheduled for February will be introduced very soon. There is a very good chance that this tournament will be organized in Saudi Arabia. In this way, it will create a very prestigious mini-tour in that area with Doha, Dubai and this famous Masters 1000."
Caujolle continued: "Only the Rotterdam ATP 500 will remain in Europe, which is certainly not easy because it is now isolated. I don't rule out that the best solution for us could be to move the tournament to the autumn, while there is a possibility.
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When the new Masters 1000 is introduced by 2028, six tournaments will disappear and we could be among them."
