(Reuters) – Staging the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia can help to bring change on behalf of gender equality and LGBTQ rights in the kingdom, Coco Gauff said, although the former U.S. Open champion added that she still had some reservations.
Riyadh will host the season finale – which features the top eight singles players and doubles teams – from 2024-2026, replacing last year’s host Cancun, Mexico. This year’s WTA Finals will run from Nov. 2-9.
The WTA has received some criticism for the move, with greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova voicing their opposition.
“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,” Gauff told reporters on Friday.
“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 invested heavily in the last few years in high-profile sporting events and professional teams from soccer to golf to Formula One, although critics, including women’s rights groups and members of the LGBTQ community, have accused the kingdom of using its Public Investment Fund to “sportswash” its human rights record.
The country denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.
“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,” Gauff said.
“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’.
“We spoke with a lot of women here in Saudi and one of them was Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud (the first female Saudi ambassador to the U.S.)… One of the questions that I brought up was about LGBTQ issues and women’s rights issues and how we can help with that.”
The world number three said she wanted to see for herself if progress had been made, adding: “If I felt uncomfortable or it felt like nothing’s happening then maybe, I probably wouldn’t come back.”
Gauff plays fellow American Jessica Pegula in her opening match of the WTA Finals on Sunday.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
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