Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova oppose WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia - ESPN

Tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on Wednesday publicly showed their opposition amid growing speculation that the 2024 WTA Finals will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Evert and Navratilova wrote a joint opinion piece for the Washington Post, saying the idea would be «entirely incompatible with the spirit and purpose of women's tennis and the WTA itself.»

Evert and Navratilova, both former world No. 1s and 18-time major singles champions who were fierce rivals during their playing days, emphasized Saudi Arabia's record of human rights violations, specifically in regard to the treatment of women and members of the LGBTQ community.

«Not only is this a country where women are not seen as equal, it is a country where the current landscape includes a male guardianship law that essentially makes women the property of men,» Evert and Navratilova wrote. «A country which criminalizes the LGBTQ community to the point of possible death sentences. A country whose long-term record on human rights and basic freedoms has been a matter of international concern for decades.

»Staging the WTA final there would represent not progress, but significant regression."

The pair urged the WTA to have «an open, honest discussion» before committing to the location and called for presentations to be made to players by human rights experts. Evert, an ESPN tennis analyst, and Navratilova also encouraged the organization to put a human rights framework into place to protect its players, and others, if the event was to be held in the country.

Speculation about a partnership between the WTA and Saudi Arabia started last year, and its capital city was believed to be in consideration to host the 2023 WTA Finals. Following backlash and