Coco Gauff, a former U.S. Open champion, stated that holding the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia can contribute to change in the kingdom for LGBTQ rights and gender equality, but she also acknowledged that she still had some concerns.
The 2024–2026 season finale, which includes the top eight singles players and doubles teams, will take place in Riyadh instead of Cancun, Mexico, as it did the year before. November 2–9 is when this year’s WTA Finals will take place.
Tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have expressed their disapproval of the move, which has drawn criticism from the WTA.
Gauff shared her remarks about it and said: “I’m obviously very aware of the situation here in Saudi. My view on it is that I do think sport can have a way to open doors to people. This is the first professional women’s tennis event held here. The WTA pledged for the next three years to help the Future Stars programme here in Saudi and introduce more Saudi women, especially into the sport. I think their goal is to have a million people playing tennis here by 2030. So hopefully with that, people see us and see what we represent, and hopefully that will enact more equality.”
Saudi Arabia has made significant investments in professional teams and high-profile sporting events in recent years, including Formula One, soccer, and golf. However, some have accused the kingdom of using its Public Investment Fund to sportswash its human rights record, including women’s rights organizations and LGBTQ individuals.
Gauff further said: “I would be lying to you if I said I had no reservations. You guys know who I am and the things I speak about. I was pretty much on every player call I could make with WTA. One of the things I said: ‘If we come here, we can’t just come here and play our tournament and leave. We have to have a real programme, a real plan in place.”
WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia can help ‘open doors’, says Gauff https://t.co/8CN9dnRhkv pic.twitter.com/YCoRYASGoE
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 2, 2024
Coco Gauff in 2024
WWLWWLWWWW At the moment ranked no.3, Coco played her last match on the 12th of October when she surrendered to world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka 1-6 6-4 6-4 in the semifinal in Wuhan (draw).
This season Coco has a composed 50-16 record. Gauff clinched 2 titles in 2024 in Auckland and Beijing.
Coco Gauff will take on the world no.184 Sinja Kraus in the . In the past, they have never competed against each other until now in top competitions.
Gauff clinched 2 titles in 2024 in Auckland and Beijing.
Coco won 8 titles in her career: 6 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Coco Gauff in 2024
WWLWWLWWWW Currently the world no.3, Coco played her last match on the 12th of October when she was overcome by world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka 1-6 6-4 6-4 in the semifinal in Wuhan (draw).
Currently, during this season the American owns a 50-16 record. Coco has won 2 titles in 2024 in Auckland and Beijing.
Coco Gauff will take on the world no.184 Sinja Kraus in the . In the past, they have never competed against each other up to now on the main tour.
The American conquered 2 titles in 2024 in Auckland and Beijing.
Coco won 8 titles in her career: 6 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
