Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has been named the host city of the prestigious Women’s Tennis Association finals for the years 2024 to 2026. This decision marks a significant milestone for the sport of tennis and hopefully represents a groundbreaking move towards gender equality in Saudi Arabia.
The announcement was made by the WTA on Monday, confirming Riyadh as the host city for the season-ending tournament. The WTA chose Riyadh as a way to raise the sport of women’s tennis and increase the number of new audiences.
Chairman and CEO Steve Simon released a statement in which he declared the association was “excited ”. He remarked:
“Bringing the WTA Finals to Riyadh is an exciting new opportunity for us and a positive step for the long-term growth of women’s tennis as a global and inclusive sport. We’ve been impressed by the commitment shown by the Saudi Tennis Federation to grow the sport at all levels, and we have no doubt that players and fans can look forward to a world-class event in Riyadh as the finale to the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons.”
The selection of Riyadh to host the Women’s Tennis Association finals elicited a blend of acclamations and disappointment. Others see it as a big improvement in the promotion of Saudi Arabian women’s sports. Others, however, raised concerns regarding the country’s human rights record and treatment of women.
However, it is irrefutable that the final tournament is supported by Saudi Arabia’s participation in international sports activities.
Saudi Arabia and Top Level Sports
Saudi Arabia has been making strides in recent years to expand its entertainment and sports sectors as part of Vision 2030 and reduce its reliance on oil dependency. We just recently wrote about the ATP Tour sponsorship with PIF (Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund) It reveals the location of Riyadh in hosting the finals, which encourages the country’s future sports events.
Despite the progress, organizations reject Saudi Arabia for human rights policies. The supporters believe it, especially the finals, aspire that demonstrations will bring out feminism in sports activities.
This will surely be a top quality event as most of sports activities in Saudi Arabia in the last few years.
1 comment
Ridiculous…another example of authoritarian regimes using $$ to boost their legitimacy. I won’t be watching this – totally sad that the ATP/WTA can’t do a better job marketing and monetizing what’s otherwise a great product. I’ll stick to watching the Grand Slams and other events played in locations with a strong tennis history and who have engaged fans.