Medvedev, Zverev, Rublev, Norrie all confirmed for Saudi Arabia
Second edition takes place in Diriyah Dec 8-10 with exciting singles & double format
The Diriyah Tennis Cup is making a return to Saudi Arabia next month with some of the world’s leading players confirmed to play in the Kingdom.
The second edition of the tournament, taking place from December 8-10, will once again be hosted in Diriyah – a UNESCO World Heritage site on the outskirts of Riyadh.
The $3m invitational tournament, played outdoors in a purpose-built arena, will host a field of twelve players competing in both singles and doubles across the three days. It will be the first time Saudi Arabia’s has hosted a professional doubles event, with a unique format that sees losers from the opening day’s singles start their own doubles tournament on Day Two.
World Number Five Daniil Medvedev, who won the inaugural event in 2019, will return to Saudi Arabia to defend his title – completing a year which saw the 2021 US Open champion become world number one for the first time. Alexander Zverev, the Olympic champion, will make his comeback from injury in Saudi Arabia after being sidelined since this year’s French Open at Roland Garros.
“I’m happy that I’ll finally be back on the court after my injury,” said Zeverev.
“It’s even nicer that I can make my comeback before the official start of the 2023 season. I think the Diriyah Tennis Cup offers a very good opportunity for it and I’m looking forward to being in Saudi Arabia for the first time,” added the German.
World Number Seven Andrey Rublev is another top-ten ranked addition to the Diriyah line up alongside British Number One, Cameron Norrie.
Rublev is a three-time ATP winner this year with victories in Marseille, Dubai and the Belgrade Open where he defeated Novak Djokovic in his home event. World Number 14 Norrie has followed up a breakthrough 2021 season with two ATP titles in 2022 including a Wimbledon Semi-Final run.
Completing the line-up to date is another major winner and former World Number Three, Dominic Thiem. The 29-year-old Austrian continues to make progress and find form following a wrist injury in 2021. Thiem is joined by one of the fan favourites from the 2019 Diriyah Tennis Cup, Stan Wawrinka.
“It was a fantastic atmosphere at the first edition of the Diriyah Tennis Cup in 2019,” said Wawrinka.
“That’s why I’m excited to be playing in front of the Saudi fans again this December. I’m sure they will enjoy world class tennis and an inspiring event.”
The Diriyah Tennis Cup forms part of the Diriyah Season – a four-month celebration of sporting, entertainment and cultural events taking place live at the birthplace of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabian sports minister, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome world-class tennis back to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The 2019 edition was a massive success and welcomed thousands of passionate fans from across the country and region. The great sport of tennis boasts a strong fan base and participation numbers amongst our men, women, boys and girls in all corners of the Kingdom.”
HRH added: “As a global home for world sports, it brings us great pride to add an event featuring some of the world’s biggest stars to our existing roster of year-round events. We welcome the world to Saudi Arabia and look forward to witnessing a high level of competitive action in what is promised to be an enjoyable evening of tennis under the lights of the historic city of Diriyah.”
