The sports day
Controversial tennis tournament: Legend complains, top players remain silent
November 1, 2024, 5:17 p.m
The best tennis players, a duel for first place in the world rankings and clear criticism of big names. Die WTA Finals cast powerful shadows ahead – from Saturday the tennis professionals will be looking for their unofficial world champion. And that for the first time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabiawhich will also be the controversial venue for the year-end event in the next two years.
Tournament director Garbine Muguruza does not want to hear any criticism of the event. The former world number one told the AFP news agency that none of the participating players expressed any reservations: “They are all very excited. I’ve only heard positive things. It is a new country for us. It’s a new market that we welcome.”
Critics, however, have been accusing the host country of wanting to use “sportswashing” to cover up mistakes such as human rights violations for years. Tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova also criticized events in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year: “We have that Women’s tennis was not built up so that it could be exploited by Saudi Arabia” the two wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post in January.
