Queen’s is to be sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, less than 18 months after British tennis chiefs rejected a shock partnership with the Gulf state.
The Lawn Tennis Association has announced “multi-year deals” with PIF and the EQT Group, a Swedish investment firm, on the opening day of this year’s HSBC Championships.
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In January 2024, Telegraph Sport exclusively revealed that the LTA board had flatly rejected a lucrative proposal negotiated between Saudi Arabia and the ATP for it to include the second most prestigious grass-court tournament after Wimbledon.
The following month, PIF became a global partner of the ATP and official naming partner of its rankings. Three months later, it became the first such partner for the WTA.
The LTA’s about-turn comes days after it published its annual report, which showed that the surplus it received from Wimbledon last year had fallen by four per cent. Telegraph Sport has been told it is braced for further cuts to an income stream that accounted for almost half its £104.4m revenue.
The new deal was also announced weeks after PIF pulled the plug on its multibillion-dollar investment in LIV Golf.
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PIF branding has been installed at Queen’s around the club’s perimeter, with that of title sponsor HSBC still dominant on the courts themselves.
Katie Boulter (left) and Emma Raducanu featured in the first WTA event at Queen’s in 52 years last season – John Walton/PA
Announcing the PIF and EQT sponsorships, the LTA said: “The partnerships reflect both the continued growth of the HSBC Championships and the strength of collaboration between the LTA and ATP Tour.
“Their support of the tournament will allow the LTA to continue to invest in the event and other initiatives to deliver greater tennis participation across Britain.”
The original Saudi Arabia-ATP proposal was to include Queen’s in a package sponsorship deal with several other events, including Masters 1000 tournaments (the highest level below the four grand slams) in Miami and Madrid.
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Although the decision to turn down the deal was made solely by the LTA board, some sources close to the talks suggest that the deal would not have been welcomed at the All England Club, which is one of the most cautious organisations in world sport in choosing branding partnerships.
Tennis was threatened with a LIV-style battle for its future when PIF announced multi-year partnerships with both the ATP and WTA in 2024.
The latter deal prompted backlash led by Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert after it included staging the season-ending WTA Tour Finals in Saudi Arabia, a country notorious for the oppression of women.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi’s General Entertainment Authority, also created the so-called Six Kings Slam, an annual exhibition event for men in Riyadh which features a record $6m (£4.7m) in prize money for the winner. Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the first two editions. On the ATP Tour, an agreement was reached recently to give Riyadh a Masters 1000 event – the 10th in an already crowded calendar – with a probable start date of 2028.
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But it has been difficult to find a space in the itinerary where the new tournament might fit. It now seems plausible that the whole project could be paused, after news emerged that the Saudis would not be renewing the WTA Finals deal once that tournament finishes its initial three-year lease in November.