Even the most short-sighted of observers saw this one coming.

Saudi Arabia is going to take over tennis, the only question now being if it’ll be sooner or later.

The Saudis have long been sniffing about tennis but the past month in particular has seen several interesting, or disheartening developments, depending upon your point of view.

It’s been revealed that the Private Investment Fund (PIF), which is Saudi Arabia’s sovereign investment fund, has offered a whopping $2 billion to buy the men’s and women’s associations, the ATP and the WTA, with a view to merging the two and creating one, combined tour.

This tour would, it is proposed, be entitled the Premium Tour and would streamline what is becoming an increasingly crowded tennis calendar.

Further details will likely become clearer later this month following the next round of show-down talks at the Madrid Masters but surely only those who are entirely deluded can see that Saudi Arabia is coming for tennis.

And despite there being countless detractors to their take-over, make no mistake that they will get what they want. It may happen in the very near future, or it may take a few more years but either way, my money is on there being only one winner.

The real question, then, is how good or bad this may be for the sport.

Andy Murray is, without fail, the........

© Herald Scotland