The ATP has announced the launch of a new, one-week Masters 1000 tournament in Saudi Arabia. It’s the first time since the inception of the Masters 1000 format in 1990 that a 10th event has been added to the schedule. The 56-player draw tournament will begin as early as 2028.

The new Masters event will be the first regular ATP Tour event to be staged in Saudi Arabia. The Next Gen ATP Finals – a tournament for top players aged 20 and under – has been held in Jeddah since 2023. The WTA Finals is currently held in Riyadh, while a six-man exhibition event, the Six Kings Slam, also takes place in Riyadh.

In a press release, the ATP said: “In what is the first-ever expansion of the tournament category, Saudi Arabia will become the tenth ATP Masters 1000 host, joining the existing nine tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris. The Saudi tournament will begin as early as 2028.

“The agreement marks a new era for global tennis and a major sports transformation in Saudi Arabia, bringing the most celebrated names in the sport to the country and delivering an unforgettable experience for fans.”

The governing body for men’s tennis made the announcement in partnership with the SURJ Sports Investment, a PIF company. The PIF is a global partner of the ATP Tour, and is the naming sponsor of both the ATP and WTA rankings.

According to The Athletic, a date for the tournament has not been set, but it could be staged in February – when there are already two other events in the Middle East, the ATP 500s in Doha and Dubai.

It was originally hoped that Saudi Arabia could play host to a joint ATP-WTA 1000 event in January, before the Australian Open. But there was pushback from Aussie Open tournament director and Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley, as a potential Saudi Masters in January would have affected the Aussie summer swing.

The WTA Tour already has 10 WTA 1000 events of its own, and there was no room for another, so organisers are said to have compromised on a 56-player ATP competition, rather than a 96-player combined tournament.

Announcing the news on Thursday, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “This is a proud moment for us and the result of a journey that’s been years in the making. Saudi Arabia has shown a genuine commitment to tennis – not just at the professional level, but also in growing the game more broadly at all levels.

“PIF’s ambition for the sport is clear, and we believe fans and players alike will be amazed by what’s coming. Strengthening our premium events is driving record growth and transformation across the Tour, and we’re grateful to our partners at PIF and SURJ for helping deliver that growth and sharing in this vision.”

The ATP said that more details on the tournament venue and dates would be “announced in due course”. The ATP Tour calendar for is typically announced less than a year in advance, so organisers will have until around mid-2027 to finalise a place in the calendar, and a host city.