Saudi Arabia's relentless efforts of becoming a significant force in tennis have resulted in the country bagging the rights to host an all-new, 12-day ATP Masters 1000 tournament starting from 2028. However, the development hasn't gone down well with most tennis fans because of the already-existing complaints from players about the sport's grueling, almost-yearlong calendar.On Thursday, October 23, the ATP Tour's official website confirmed the development, stating that the maiden expansion of the Masters 1000 category stems from a partnership between Surj Sports of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the ATP. So far, the ATP Tour, since its inception 35 years ago, has had nine Masters 1000 events; Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Madrid, Canada, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris.The ATP Tour announce a 10th Masters event that will be held in Saudi Arabia byu/pizzainmyshoe intennisTennis fans on Reddit were livid with the announcement of the 10th Masters 1000 event, that too in Saudi Arabia, a country that has been widely accused of 'sportswashing', i.e. billions of dollars in sports investments to protect its global image in the face of questions directed at it over its questionable human and women's rights records. Fans wondered how a new 12-day event can be added to the ATP Tour's calendar given the already-hectic nature of it."F**king disgrace," one fan wrote."Money money money money .....," commented another."Only a matter of time this happened. Now it’s only a matter of time until the Saudis get to be the fifth major," another fan chimed in."Wtf? Players are already unhappy with so many tournaments and they add one moreeee???? And that too a 12 day masters???? What is this greed???," one questioned."F**k this," added another."Literally where do you even put it in the calendar year. Completely insane decision that'll hopefully get the players to actually organize to change the schedule," weighed in yet another fan.Saudi Arabia made significant inroads into bringing men's tennis to its shores with Six Kings SlamJannik Sinner poses with the golden racket presented to him as the trophy for winning the 2025 Six Kings Slam (Source: Getty)From 2023, Saudi Arabia has been hosting the Next Gen ATP Finals, the year-end tournament that brings together the best young men's tennis talents in the world. Last year, the country hosted the prestigious, year-end WTA Finals for the first time despite vociferous opposition from women's tennis legends such as Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.The only thing missing from the country's tennis resume was an event featuring the most elite men's tennis players in the world. This too, changed with the introduction of the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in 2024.So far, two editions of the exhibition event have been hosted by Saudi Arabia, with both of them having been won by former World No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner. The event has raised eyebrows, particularly because of its $6 million paycheck for the winner; an amount that not even any of the Majors offers.