The WTA season is almost over. The WTA Finals are currently taking place in Saudi Arabia for the first time in history and have been a source of controversy. The decision to play such an important event in a country still far behind on human rights has generated criticism, but the money promised by PIF has led the top management of the WTA to accept the offer.
As was quite predictable, many of the matches taking place in Riyadh have a very small crowd due to the poor tennis tradition in Saudi Arabia. The second day’s matches were seen by a few hundred spectators in the arena and the images of the almost empty stands soon made the world tour.
From a business point of view, it is not easy to criticize the choice of WTA. The Finals represent about 50% of the company’s annual revenue and it was not easy to turn down such an attractive offer. The King Saud University Indoor Arena has a capacity of almost 5000 seats and was set up in a really fascinating way, bringing the stands closer to the field.
The controversies continue
The hope is that the number of people in the arena will increase as the days pass and that we can fill the arena at least for the final phases of the tournament. Many players and insiders have expressed their opinion on this decision to host the most important event in the WTA calendar in Saudi Arabia, a country that is controversial in many ways.
In an interview with ‘Sky Sports Tennis’, former ATP ace and top analyst Tim Henman expressed his point of view on this topic: “I think it’s just been disappointing. The way the event has been hosted, you look at the stadium courts, it’s absolutely fantastic, all the facilities, practice courts, restaurants, they’ve laid it all on. So, it’s just a little bit frustrating, and I think disappointing for the top eight players in the world that we haven’t had a better atmosphere.”
He continued: “The first day was OK, which was part of the Saudi weekend, but yesterday, to have 300-400 in the crowd when you’ve got a 5,000 seater stadium, it just doesn’t create the atmosphere that these great players deserve. A lot of the players who were here have been talking about change, and part of the reason they’re here is to bring about change.”
A three-year contract
WTA has signed a three-year contract that will allow the eight best players of the season to play in the finals in Riyadh. If from the economic point of view – considering that the total prize pool for the first year alone is 15,250,000 dollars – It convinced everyone; there was a lot of criticism for choosing to organize such an important event for women’s tennis in a place where women’s rights are very limited.
Steve Simon, CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association, said: “Bringing the WTA Finals to Riyadh is an exciting new opportunity for us and a positive step towards the long-term growth of women’s tennis as a global and inclusive sport”. Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, two icons of the women’s tennis movement, reacted harshly and “protested” with an official letter to the Washington Post. During the show called ‘La Domenica Sportiva’, Italian legend Adriano Panatta expressed his harsh judgment on the choice of WTA.
“A tournament as important as the WTA Finals is taking place in a city and a country where women’s rights are not taken into account. The hope is that these Finals can help to give an opening and to improve the situation in this respect”, explained the former Italian tennis player. There was a lot of talk about the crowd’s response, because the stands never really appeared crowded despite the level and status of the athletes present in Saudi Arabia.
After her match against Iga Swiatek, American star Coco Gauff opened up on the atmosphere at the WTA Finals: “It means a lot the crowd especially the corner over there. You guys are holding it down and it was a really fun atmosphere. Even though some of you guys were cheering for Iga, I like playing in atmospheres like this and it makes competing exciting.”
Many argued that the WTA Finals should be awarded to the Czech Republic, a country with much more tennis tradition and which had submitted an offer very similar to that of Saudi Arabia. The feeling is that WTA has chosen this solution not to waste a very important chance, since Saudi Arabia could aim for men’s tennis in the coming years.