"Be f***ing serious, like give us grass 1000 first at least" - Tennis fans react to possible Masters event in Saudi Arabia before Australian Open

The rumors about Saudi Arabia hosting a Masters 1000 tournament in January have irked the tennis fans on the internet.

There were strong speculations recently about the country's chances of hosting the 2023 WTA Finals which, however, was not the case. Regardless, Saudi Arabia has been constantly working towards hosting major tennis tournaments on their soil.

However, there has been constant opposition against the idea of the Middle Eastern nation hosting events, particularly those meant for women.

Amid all the noise, the Italian Tennis Federation's president Angelo Binaghi has caused a stir around the tennis world with a recent statement, saying:

“I hope that the Masters 1000 they will have in January 2025 will satisfy their “tennis cravings”.”

The ATP has yet to release an official statement regarding the same. But it must be noted that Binaghi was the first person to unveil Saudi Arabia's Jeddah as the new destination for the Next Generation ATP Finals.

Hence, Binaghi's statement has fans revolting on social media as they believe a Masters 1000 in January would be detrimental to the calendar. A fan took to X (formerly Twitter) and expressed his discontent, writing:

"They will create a 1000 event in Saudi before AO??? Wtf?!"

Another fan chimed in saying:

"I mean besides the obvious issue with this we really do not need a 1000 in January like pls."

A user stated that the demand for a Masters 1000 competition during the grasscourt season must be fulfilled first.

"Be f***ing serious, like give us grass 1000 first at least. And we don’t need to be there anyways," the user tweeted.

A third fan pointed out that the decision to allow an event in Saudi Arabia in January wouldn't be wise given the players are heavily engaged in their Australian Open preparations.

"January? That's going to heavily mess up players' leadup to the Australian Open because of travel distance, right before a Grand Slam. It's going to be hard as hell to fit a new M1000, let alone one so close to a Slam that is nowhere near said Slam," the fan wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from X:

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Martina Navratilova & Chris Evert protested against holding women tennis events in Saudi Arabia

Tennis icons Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert had in August protested the probability of WTA events, especially the year-end championships, being held in Saudi Arabia.

“I can tell you 100 percent if I were still playing, I would not be going [to Saudi Arabia] for the Championships,” Navratilova stated during a conversation with journalist Jon Wertheim.

Evert, too, maintained the idea of avoiding the Middle Eastern superpower for events meant for women.

“I would prefer not to go to Saudi Arabia to play the WTA finals. Obviously they have the human rights issues and everything, just the way they treat women. I would be against it," Evert said.