Saudi Arabia has reportedly made a substantial offer to assume control of tennis, presenting a take-it-or-leave-it proposition as part of their ongoing engagement in sports following significant investments in football, Formula One, boxing, and golf, as reported by The Telegraph.
A proposed 'Premium Tour' is under consideration, which would integrate both men's and women's tours, with current executives being offered $1 billion (£783,000,000).
According to the publication, discussions took place among tournament executives at Indian Wells, where ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi requested Masters tournaments to remain for further discussions after the conclusion of the four Majors.
He then informed them that an offer had arrived from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF). The deal is said to be time-sensitive and the current regime has 90 days to accept.
The All England Club has already supported the plans, which would see male and female tennis professionals earn equal pay on the Premium Tour.
Pay equality already occurs at Grand Slams, but not at all other events, and although players will be consulted it will be very difficult for the WTA to pass up on such an opportunity.
One contentious area is the Masters 1000 tournament in the first week of the season, which would be seen as a major coup for PIF, but the Tennis Australia CEO has strongly opposed the idea as it would conflict with his United Cup team event.
The new Premium Tour is set to comprise the four Grand Slams, 10 Masters 1000 events lasting 10 days each, a team competition, and a combined season-ending championships.
The 10 Masters tournaments would likely consist of Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid, an unspecified grass-court tournament, Canada, Cincinnati, and Beijing.
The lower-level 500 and 250-point tournaments would be downgraded to a Contender Tour as a result, though the ATP and WTA would likely take issue as they oversee such events.