The Saudi Public Investment Fund signed a multi-year partnership Monday to become the first naming-rights sponsor of the WTA rankings, the second major tennis property Riyadh has claimed in 90 days. The deal includes funding for the tour's first formal paid maternity leave program, a policy addition that arrives eight months before the WTA's collective bargaining agreement with players expires in January 2025.
The PIF announced the arrangement without disclosing financial terms. The ATP Tour signed a similar naming-rights package with the Saudi fund in February for an undisclosed sum; sources familiar with ATP economics suggested mid-eight figures annually. The WTA declined to confirm whether its deal structure mirrors the men's tour. The rankings sponsorship converts what was previously an unmonetized asset—tournament seedings and year-end bonuses reference WTA rankings constantly but carried no commercial branding until now.
The maternity leave component matters more than the branding in the near term. Professional tennis has no off-season and no guaranteed contracts; pregnancy historically meant 12 to 18 months without prize money. Serena Williams returned nine months after giving birth in 2017 and described the financial pressure in real time. Tatjana Maria competed while pregnant in 2021, reaching Wimbledon's semifinals 14 months postpartum, because her family needed the ranking points and appearance fees. The new program will pay players during maternity absence, though the WTA has not yet released eligibility thresholds, payment amounts, or protected-ranking details that determine which tournaments a returning mother can enter.
The timing aligns with collective bargaining leverage points. The current CBA expires after the 2024 season; players have pushed for minimum salary guarantees and healthcare expansion in previous rounds. Adding a funded maternity policy before formal negotiations lets the tour claim it delivered a player-backed benefit without yielding ground at the bargaining table. Whether the PIF money is ringfenced for maternity pay or flows into general WTA revenues will matter to agents modeling what proposals to bring forward in September.
Saudi Arabia has now purchased naming rights to both the ATP and WTA ranking systems, plus title sponsorship of the ATP Finals (relocated to Riyadh starting 2025 for at least five years at approximately $100 million annually). The kingdom has committed at least $600 million to ATP and WTA properties in six months. Riyadh is simultaneously lobbying the ITF to host a WTA 1000-level event and a new combined ATP-WTA tournament before 2027, which would require tour schedule adjustments currently under study.
Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert released statements Monday criticizing the partnership on human rights grounds, specifically citing Saudi women's legal status and LGBTQ+ rights. Both are WTA board members emeritus with advisory roles but no voting power. Ons Jabeur, the highest-ranked Arab player at No. 10, called the deal "a step forward" for Middle Eastern visibility in women's sports. No active top-20 player declined to participate in Monday's announcement video, which WTA media staff noted privately.
Sponsorship capital now favors women's tennis in ways it did not 18 months ago. The WTA's 2023 total prize money reached $394 million, up 14% year-over-year, compared to 7% growth for the ATP. Title sponsors are paying closer to ATP rates for WTA 1000 events in Madrid, Rome, and Beijing; the gap was 40% two years ago and is now approximately 20%, per tournament operators who negotiate both. The PIF deal converts that momentum into a locked multi-year commitment before potential macro softness hits discretionary sports marketing budgets.
The maternity program is scheduled to begin January 2025, pending finalization of eligibility criteria. Tour officials expect to release full policy terms by August, before the U.S. Open, where initial CBA discussions typically occur in player lounge sessions. The first player likely to benefit is Elina Svitolina, who returned from maternity absence in April 2023 without financial support; her agents have already asked WTA executives whether the program applies retroactively. It does not.
The takeaway
Saudi PIF locks WTA rankings naming rights pre-CBA talks; maternity leave addition shifts bargaining baseline before January expiration.
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