Coco Gauff believes hosting the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia can “open doors” and inspire positive change for women in the country, although the world number three admitted: “I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t I have no reservations.
The WTA has signed a three-year deal with the Saudi Tennis Federation to host its season finale in Riyadh, with the first edition kicking off on Saturday at the King Saud University Indoor Arena.
The WTA has faced scrutiny for its decision to travel to Saudi Arabia, with critics citing the conservative kingdom’s record on free speech and women’s rights as reasons to oppose the move. decision.
Gauff, 20, admits she had reservations about hosting the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia and wanted to see for herself what kind of progress was being made.
“Obviously I’m very aware of the situation here in Saudi Arabia. My point of view is that sport can have a way of opening doors for people. I think to want change you have to see it. I think sport, for me, I would say is the easiest way to introduce that,” said the American star.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t have any reservations. I was at just about every player call I could make with the WTA. One of the things I said, if we come here, we We can’t just come here and play our tournament and leave. We have to have a real program or a real plan in place.”
Gauff said the calls included conversations with Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, during which Gauff asked about LGBTQ+ and women’s rights in the country.
“In the long run, I think it could be better for everyone,” the American said.
“It’s one of those things where I want to see it for myself, see if change is happening. If I felt uncomfortable or felt like nothing was happening, then I probably wouldn’t come back.”
World number one Aryna Sabalenka said she was “very happy” to play a role in introducing women’s tennis to Saudi Arabia and praised the country’s efforts to attract high-level sporting events.
“I took part in an exhibition match against Ons (Jabeur last year) and I saw that everything here is quite calm and I, personally, have no problem playing here,” said the Belarusian.
“The effort they’re putting in here in women’s sports is incredible and I’m really impressed. I’m really happy to be here and be part of some kind of history here.”
WTA chief executive Portia Archer defended the tour’s decision to stage the final in Riyadh.
“This is our first time in Riyadh, but we have been in the Middle East for over 20 years,” Archer said, referring to WTA tournaments held in Dubai and Doha since 2001.
“Actually, we’ve never had any problems with freedom of expression, at least not to my knowledge. I don’t expect we will have any while we’re here in Riyadh.”
When asked whether the WTA’s values aligned with those of the host country, Archer said: “We respect the values, even if they differ from those of other countries that we are in and in which We compete.”
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