The ATP’s $300M deal with Sportradar and the announcement of a Saudi-hosted Masters 1000 event mark a seismic shift in tennis’s commercial landscape, raising questions about player compensation, transparency, and the sport’s evolving global footprint.
A $300 Million Data Play
In December 2023, the ATP signed a multi-year, $300 million agreement with Sportradar, granting the Swiss-based company exclusive global rights to distribute data and live video from ATP Tour and Challenger Tour matches for betting and media purposes. The deal includes the launch of ATP Service , a platform designed to enhance fan engagement through augmented streaming, personalized betting products, and expanded in-play markets.
The partnership is being hailed as a commercial breakthrough, with ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi emphasizing its potential to modernize the sport’s digital infrastructure. However, former world No. 1 Andy Roddick and Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim have raised concerns about how much of this revenue will actually benefit the players.
“We still don’t know what percentage of this money is going to the players,” said Andy Roddick. The lack of clarity around revenue distribution has reignited long-standing debates about the financial structure of professional tennis, where only a small fraction of players earn sustainable incomes.
The Saudi Masters 1000: A New Era
In October 2025, the ATP confirmed that Saudi Arabia will host a new Masters 1000 event starting in 2028, marking the first expansion of the elite tournament category since its inception in 1990. The event, backed by the Public Investment Fund’s Surj Sports Investment, will be played on hard courts at the beginning of the season and will join the likes of Indian Wells, Miami, and Rome in the top-tier calendar.
ATP’s leadership framed the move as a strategic step toward globalizing the sport. “This is a proud moment for us and the result of a journey that’s been years in the making,” said Andrea Gaudenzi.
Parallels with LIV Golf
The Saudi expansion has drawn comparisons to the controversial LIV Golf series, which disrupted the PGA Tour with massive financial incentives and a new tournament model. While tennis has not experienced the same level of fragmentation, the ATP’s willingness to partner with Saudi Arabia signals a shift in how the sport balances tradition with commercial opportunity.
Jon Wertheim noted that tennis may have had more leverage than it realized. “Unlike golf, tennis has a unified structure and global appeal. That gives it a stronger negotiating position,” he said. Yet, the financial details of the Saudi deal remain opaque, and questions linger about the long-term implications for scheduling, player welfare, and geopolitical entanglements.
The Transparency Gap
Both the Sportradar and Saudi announcements underscore a broader issue: the persistent lack of transparency in tennis’s financial ecosystem. Players, especially those outside the top 100, continue to push for greater clarity on how revenues are allocated and how decisions are made at the highest levels.
As Andy Roddick put it, “Until there’s a clear breakdown of where the money goes, it’s hard to celebrate these deals as wins for the players.” The ATP’s recent moves may bring in unprecedented revenue, but without structural reforms and open communication, the benefits may remain concentrated at the top.