LONDON, Aug 24, (AP): Saudi Arabia will host the men’s tennis tour’s Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah through 2027 under an agreement announced Thursday, the latest foray into sports by the kingdom. The end-of-season tournament for the ATP’s leading 21-and-under players will be held this year at the King Abdullah Sports City on an indoor hard court from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2.

The event’s prize money will rise to $2 million, a jump of more than 40% from the $1.4 million handed out in 2022, when the last of five editions was held in Milan. It is the first time an official ATP event will be held in Saudi Arabia and part of a recent trend involving various sports linking with the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund that claims assets of about $700 billion. The PGA Tour, European Tour and Saudi-funded LIV Golf announced a collaboration last month.

Formula One put a race in Saudi Arabia in 2021, the same year the kingdom bought English soccer club Newcastle United. Saudi soccer teams have been signing big-name players. WTA Chairman Steve Simon visited the kingdom with tennis players in February, and he acknowledged shortly before Wimbledon that his tour will “continue to have conversations” with the Saudis.