Members of the Tennis Hall of Fame, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, are appealing for women's tennis tournaments not to be held in Saudi Arabia, with the assessment that holding the WTA finals in that country "would not represent progress, but a significant setback". broadcast by Radio Free Europe.
"There should be a healthy debate about whether 'progress' and 'engagement' are really possible," the two famous tennis players, who decades ago were rivals on the court, wrote in an op-ed published Thursday in the Washington Post.
There has been a recent debate in the tennis world about whether the sport should follow golf and other sports in making deals with the wealthy Saudi kingdom, where, according to human rights groups, women still face discrimination in most aspects of family life. life and where homosexuality, as in most of the Middle East, is a big taboo".
To the detriment of women
"Having the tournament there would be a significant step backwards, to the detriment not only of women's sport, but of women as well," said Evert and Navratilova, who each won 18 Grand Slam singles titles.
They hope that the situation in Saudi Arabia will one day change and that in that case they would support the holding of women's tennis tournaments in that country.
Saudi Arabia hosted the Next Gen ATP Finals for the top under-21 players in Jeddah last year, under a deal that runs until 2027.
This month, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal announced that he will be an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation, with plans to establish a Rafael Nadal Academy in the kingdom.
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is in negotiations to hold the WTA finals in Saudi Arabia at the end of the season.
"We take note of the views of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert as two legends of women's tennis who have played a valuable role in the development of our sport and the WTA." As we said earlier, we are currently working on the process of selecting a host venue for the WTA Finals. "At this moment, no final decision has been made and we will continue to cooperate with the players in the ongoing process," the WTA stated in response to AP's inquiry.
Another Hall of Famer, Billie Jean King, said she supports the idea of โโtrying to encourage change.
"I'm a big believer in engagement," King, the WTA founder and equality advocate, said last year.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been working to break out of international isolation since the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
