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ATP, the mens professional tennis tour, and Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund agreed to a five-year partnership Wednesday that will make the country a major sponsor of the league, the latest in a series of moves by the kingdom to invest in professional sports.

As part of the deal, the PIF, the Saudi wealth fund, will have naming rights for the ATP rankings which were previously sponsored by Pepperstone, an Australian online trading firm, ATP said Wednesday.

PIF will partner with ATP for other events in Beijing, Indian Wells, Madrid and Miami, ATP said in a statement.

Before Wednesdays announcement, Saudi Arabia had a deal to host the Next Generation ATP finalsa tournament for younger playersin Jeddah from 2023 to 2027.

Womens tennis is also exploring the possibility of partnering with the Saudis. The WTA womens tennis tour has reportedly been in negotiations with Saudi Arabia to play its WTA Finals in the country.

This is the latest in a series of investments the Saudis have made in professional sports in recent years. Most notably, the PIF made major investments in professional golf when they allocated billions of dollars to start LIV Golf, in 2022 as a direct competitor to the PGA Tour. With that money, LIV recruited some of the PGA Tours best known golfers and challenged PGAs control of professional golf. Then competing golf tours surprised the world last year when they suddenly announced they were merging. The Saudis have made investments to host major soccer tournaments in their country including the 2027 Asian Cup and 2023 Club World Cup.The Saudis also appear interested in investing in Formula 1 after they signed a 10-year contract in 2020 to host a race in the country each year beginning in 2021. Bloomberg reported the PIF considered making a $20 billion bid for Formula 1 in 2022. This heavy investment in sports is part of Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salmans Vision 2030, a government program aimed at diversifying the oil-rich countrys economy.

Some athletes have been critical of the growing relationship between professional sports and Saudi Arabia. The country has been accused of sportswashing or involving itself in sports in an attempt to distract from the countrys human rights violations. The United Nations Human Rights Council last month criticized Saudi Arabias restrictions on LGBTQ+ peoplesame-sex relations are punishable by death in Saudi Arabia and all forms of LGBTQ+ advocacy are banned in the country. The Saudis also faced criticism, including from President Joe Biden, over the purported role of bin Salman in the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

I am a Washington D.C. based reporter. My previous work includes USA Today, E&E News, the Baltimore Sun, NBC News and Maryland Matters. I am a graduate of Saint Joseph's University with a degree in political science. Email me at afaguy@forbes.com and follow me on Twitter @AnaFaguy.

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ATP Tennis Inks 5-Year Deal With Saudis In Countrys Latest Sports Investment - Forbes