👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.

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Today’s tennis mood rating: Concern with a hint of resolution.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 Schedule detour: The ATP announced on Thursday that Saudi Arabia is finally getting the Masters 1000 tournament it has been after for the last handful of years, making it the first ever expansion at the 1000-level since the designation of the category. The tournament will be added to the schedule as early as 2028.

  • What they said: “This is a proud moment for us and the result of a journey that’s been years in the making. Saudi Arabia has shown a genuine commitment to tennis – not just at the professional level, but also in growing the game more broadly at all levels,” said ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi. “PIF’s ambition for the sport is clear, and we believe fans and players alike will be amazed by what’s coming. Strengthening our premium events is driving record growth and transformation across the tour, and we’re grateful to our partners at PIF and SURJ for helping deliver that growth and sharing in this vision.”
  • Yes, but: As it stands, a slot has not been designated for the tournament in Saudi Arabia. However, hints from the ATP suggest that the tournament will land in February to create a Middle East swing along with Doha and Dubai.
  • Noteworthy: The tournament will carry the same cash and points as the other 1000s, but it will not be mandatory.
  • The big picture: I’m currently working on a longer article about this development. But read this piece from The Athletic, which raises more questions than the ATP has answers for.

🎾 The last seat: Elena Rybakina claimed the last spot in the WTA Tour Finals in Riyadh on Friday by defeating Victoria Mboko in the quarterfinals of Tokyo, 6-3, 7-6. The win gave her the edge over Mirra Andreeva, who was absent in Tokyo due to visa issues.

  • What they said: “It’s great to qualify and play some more matches, especially against top players,” Rybakina said. “Last week, I was focusing one match at a time and I knew that to qualify, it’s going to take a long road.”
  • The complete Riyadh field: Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, and Elena Rybakina.
  • Next: Rybakina faces Linda Noskova in the semifinals of Tokyo.

🎾 Why the Stanimal still competes: It’s not clear how much longer we’ll have Stan Wawrinka on tour. This year has been marked by deep runs at Challenger events, but also many first-round exits at the tour level against players he never would have lost to just a few years ago. But! With the indoor season and the lack of heat that wilts a 40-year-old faster than his opponents sometimes half his age, we get access to the Stanimal. As a wild card in Basel this week, he took out an equally powerful Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets before bowing out in a highly entertaining and competitive match (in which he was up a break in each set!) to Casper Ruud, 6-4, 7-6. In both matches, we saw his clutch aces, the power off both wings, and that beautiful one-hander. When will we see him next? It’s not clear. With any luck, it will be indoors.