Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the sponsors of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, was spotted at Stadium 2 of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, on March 14, 2024.
Taya Gray/The Desert Sun/Taya Gray/The Desert Sun/USA TODAY NETWORK
Saudi Arabia will host the WTA Finals as part of a three-year deal announced through the women’s professional tennis tour that will raise the prize money for November’s season-ending championship to a record $15. 25 million, up 70% from 2023.
The event for the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams will be held in Riyadh from 2024 to 2026, as part of a recent wave of the kingdom’s investment in tennis and sports, despite doubts about LGBTQ and women’s rights. through Hall. featured Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and others.
“We are aware that Saudi investment in sports is getting positive reviews from people,” Steve Simon, president and CEO of the WTA Tour, told The Associated Press. “We met with Chris and Martina and listened to their considerations and also shared their considerations with our stakeholders, without bias. We also shared our considerations on women’s rights and LGBTQ rights within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We concentrate on how we grow women’s tennis to gain advantages for everyone involved in the sport. The truth is. . . We are indeed a global tour, a global company. We now have players from over 90 nations. We have more than 90 events. . . We are present in many countries that have other cultures and pricing systems at all levels. “
As for the considerations existing players might have about Saudi Arabia, Simon said: “We don’t intend to persuade. The players have to make their own decisions, and everyone who qualifies will have to play. “
Venues in Europe, North America and Asia have also been considered as conceivable new venues for the WTA Finals, which have been moved to five cities in the last five editions after an agreement was reached to host the tournament in Shenzhen, China, until 2030. interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about the protection of retired Grand Slam doubles champion Peng Shuai, who accused a Chinese government official of rape.
The cities that hosted the event in 2022 (Fort Worth, Texas) and 2023 (Cancun, Mexico) were only revealed in September each year, and last November’s event was heavily criticized by players. Four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek beat Jessica Pegula. in last year’s name matching; U. S. Open champion Coco Gauff and Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka were among the other participants.
Simon said Riyadh decided to do so through the WTA at the end of December, but that the main points of the deal had barely been finalized.
“This partnership will build on our exposure to a market position and region that is, in fact, developing rapidly and having an impact on the sports industry,” said Simon. “In fact, we expect more opportunities to position ourselves there in the future. At the end of the day, that the WTA deserves to be a part of this development, rather than being on the sidelines. “
Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF) created the LIV Golf Tour and poured money into football, for example, and the kingdom’s role in tennis grew. The ATP Tour moved its Next Gen Finals for the most sensible players aged 21 and under to Jeddah in November; the PIF is the sponsor of the men’s ranking; Rafael Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, recently became an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation; It will sign 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic and rising stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at an exhibition event in Riyadh in October. There have also been discussions about the option of holding a higher-level Masters 1000 tournament in Saudi Arabia. , as a component of a broader restructuring imaginable involving the WTA, the ATP and the country.
Human rights groups say women continue to face discrimination in most aspects of family life and that homosexuality is a fundamental taboo, as it is in much of the rest of the Middle East.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has enacted sweeping social reforms, including granting women the right to drive and, in large part, dismantling male guardianship legislation that allowed male husbands and family circle members to control many facets of women’s lives. Men and women are still required to dress modestly, but regulations have been relaxed and the once-feared devout police force has been sidelined. However, same-sex relationships are punishable by death or flogging, and prosecution is rare.
In an op-ed published in the Washington Post in January, Evert and Navratilova suggested that the WTA stay out of Saudi Arabia because, they wrote, holding the final there “would constitute progress, albeit a significant regression” and questioned whether “hosting a Saudi Arabia’s Ultimate” crown jewel tournament would implicate players in an act of sports-laundering just for the sake of getting an influx of money.
In response, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, said the two former athletes relied on “outdated stereotypes and Western perspectives of our culture” and “turned their backs on the very women they inspired. “It’s beyond disappointing.
The ambassador joined the president of the Saudi Tennis Federation and other women at a video convention with existing WTA athletes to “talk about the adjustments that are being made and what remains to be done in the region,” Simon said.
The WTA said the prize money from the final would fulfill the tour’s promise, made last year, to raise salaries and bring them in line with what men earn in tennis. The proposed $15. 25 million from Nov. 2 to Nov. 9, 2024 — an amount that is expected to increase in 2025 and 2026 — is up from $9 million last year and eclipses the $14 million peak reached in Shenzhen in 2019.
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