The eight best tennis players in the world have met in Riyadh in what should be a true celebration of women’s sports. Swiatek, Sabalenka and company compete for the WTA crown of the year in Saudi Arabia, a country that does not seem to be particularly interested in their sporting exploits. After several days of competition, the stands remain practically empty, despite the fact that the price to purchase a seat is ridiculous compared to the usual prices for this type of events.
The track is surrounded by a unique atmosphere, with the stands shadowed and the light focused only on the protagonists. A good way to hide the enormous existing gaps in society, even in the maximum elite parties. A sample of reality not so visible through television footage:
Are these images misleading? No. The track has a capacity for about 5,000 people and, for example, The match between Swiatek and Krejcikova barely had 400 fans in the stands. The players, for the moment, remain on the sidelines or, at least, prefer not to be pessimistic. Pegula, for example, assumes what the reality is: “We have played many games in which there are not many people. We have played in Covid times where there was no one.”
The truth is that Saudi Arabia has imposed a large financial prize for the tennis players who succeed on this tour, which does not mean that the atmosphere is bleak. The WTA, meanwhile, continues to defend its decision: “We are bringing tennis to a new audience and that takes time, we have to build“. They even tried to see a ray of sunlight in the middle of the tunnel: “There was a strong attendance on the opening day.”
The organization also wanted to explain that Sunday is the start of the working day in Saudi Arabia and that, therefore, they expected a smaller crowd in the stands. That is one thing and another, of course, that there is barely 10% of the highest level tennis on the planet. Without going any further, Tickets to the Mutua Madrid Open are sold months in advance and it is a real war to get access on the most important days with a considerably higher price and also on business days.
Cover the sun with a finger or celebrate that the opening between Zheng and Sabalenka had a 70% audience depending on capacity. The cheapest tickets to enter the venue cost just six dollars, a ridiculous amount in one of the richest countries on the planet. It is also no excuse that Texas or Cancún, editions of previous years, did not have a great reception. In their case, the programming was practically improvised and past mistakes should not overshadow the finals of the women’s circuit for another year.
Tim Henman, former tennis player and commentator on Sky Sportswas accurate: “The organizers here are in a privileged position where they are not necessarily trying to make money from ticket proceeds. “That’s why they should go out into the communities and schools, because we need spectators here to witness the best players and create that atmosphere.”
And he adds: “I think the organizers should take into account the lack of fans. The way they have built the facilities and looked after the players has been really impressive. But ticket distribution needs to be taken more seriously. Today, the public was almost non-existent.”
It’s not tennis, but management. Or who knows if the ideas. The Six Kings Slam with Nadal, Djokovic, Alcaraz or Sinner attracted the masses and, in general terms, presented sellouts. They became rock stars, had personalized parties and revolutionized the population. They are barely managing to sell tickets, despite their reduced price. It is worth studying it.
Saudi Arabia carries out what is known as ‘sportswashing’. Carlos de las Heras, head of sports at Amnesty International, explained in Relevo what exactly this concept means: “It basically consists of the use that certain countries or certain regimes make of sport to sell a series of images abroad.of reforms or openness that really has little to do with the human rights situation within those countries.
Through sport, Riyadh exposes an image to society that is different from its daily life. Despite the restriction of women’s rights under its soil, it features the best tennis players in the world competing for the WTA Finals. The social response, however, is far from what was expected with minimal viewer data.
Martina Navratilova, winner of 18 Grand Slams, was ironic after the announcement: “We are seeing changes, right? Now we’re going to Saudi Arabia! That’s the biggest change we can see right now… At least we’re not going to North Korea. I know structural change is complicated, but we are an elite women’s sport and as such I would like to see more women in positions of power. In short, there will always be changes… We will see how things develop now in Saudi Arabia“.
Time has proven him right. The women’s tennis festival barely attracts hundreds of people in Saudi Arabia… To make matters worse, they signed until 2026.
