Tim Henman says the Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia from 2028 will be a great event but questions why there is not a similar tournament on grass.
The country's influence in tennis has been growing, with Saudi Arabia staging the WTA Finals, the Next Gen ATP Finals and the lucrative Six Kings Slam exhibition, while sponsorship deals through its Public Investment Fund include the ATP and WTA rankings and the WTA's maternity programme.
Now Saudi Arabia has achieved a major goal by being awarded a coveted spot on the Masters calendar - the top level of the men's tour.
In the first expansion of the category, Saudi Arabia will join the existing nine tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Canada, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris, with the aim being for the new event to run from 2028.
The exact point of the season where it will sit remains to be determined, but ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi pinpointed February, when there are already tournaments in Doha and Dubai, as a strong probability.
"I think the conversation about a Saudi Masters 1000 event has been in the pipeline for a long, long time, and there's no doubt Saudi Arabia are coming into sport and I think tennis as a whole wanted to embrace that idea, so I'm excited about it," six-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Henman told SportNews.
"The date in the calendar has been a little bit challenging but I'm sure once the Saudi 1000 is up and running it will be a great event."
The ATP is looking at reducing the total number of tournaments, while the Saudi Arabia event will align with Monte-Carlo in lasting only one week and it will not be mandatory.
However, the prize money and other benefits on offer will almost certainly make it an event no eligible player would want to skip.
Henman continued: "We've seen the WTA Finals in Riyadh and that is an event which is going from strength to strength but I think if you're going to have the best male players in the world I'm sure the fans will come and watch.
"When you look at what Saudi Arabia have done by investing in all sorts of different sports, I'm sure the prize money will absolutely be in line with the other Masters 1000 events."
The announcement comes at a time when there is intense scrutiny on the length of the calendar and demands on players.
"Talking about schedule and adding in an event is an interesting topic of conversation," said Henman. "When you look at the pinnacle of the sport with the four Grand Slams and the Masters 1000s I think that's what we be focusing our attention on, to get the players together to play in those big events, but perhaps playing less of those smaller events so that there's a clearer narrative - the best players playing each other more often!
"It is another event in the calendar and I think there is still work to be done but I'm sure Saudi Masters 1000 will be a good edition."
Masters 1000 events are among the most prestigious tournaments after the four Grand Slams, with three held on clay and a further six on hard courts every year, but none on grass as yet.
"Having a Masters 1000 on grass is another topic of conversation," said Henman, who won the 2003 Paris Masters.
"I would love to see that and there are Masters 1000 events on other surfaces so why not on grass?
"There are challenges around facilities, looking at the calendar there's three weeks between Roland-Garros and Wimbledon so that middle week would be an obvious opportunity but it's not that straightforward with sanctions and everything that goes with it.
"The principle of having a Masters 100 on grass - I would absolutely support that."
However, Laura Robson feels having a Masters 1000 event on grass is not possible due to logistics and infrastructure.
"You can try and upgrade a tournament that is already there but honestly, I think the calendar is already so jam-packed. No-one is asking for another Masters 1000," said the former British No 1.
"It would certainly be nice because it's the only surface that doesn't have one, but at the same time it's a very busy time of the season. There are some great options if you're looking to play 500 but logistically it's very, very tough to have a grass-court venue that can hold a Masters-level event if you think about the courts needed to hold the draw size in the first place.
"There's very few permanent grass-courts venues in the first place. I don't think anyone is asking for it, it would be just nice to have compared to all the other Masters events that are on and played on hard-courts."
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