WTA facing pushback on mulled Finals move to Saudi

MELBOURNE : Little more than two years after the WTA was lauded by human rights advocates for suspending its tournaments in China, the women's tour risks angering those same activists as it mulls moving its season-ending Finals to Saudi Arabia.

Speculation about the event heading to the Gulf country has intensified and there has already been significant pushback from within the game, most notably from tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in sports like soccer, Formula One and golf over the last few years even as critics accuse the kingdom of using its Public Investment Fund to "sportswash" its human rights record.

"The human rights risks in Saudi Arabia to players, fans, and journalists are very serious," Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch told Reuters from New York.

"Sports such as tennis have only been allowed in the kingdom since 2018 for women and girls. Until that time, women and girls were not welcome in the stadium even to watch sports."

Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.

The WTA, whose chief Steve Simon said last year that Saudi Arabia presented "big issues", told Reuters it was in discussions with various groups over the 2024 edition of the Finals and that no decision had yet been made.

The men's ATP Tour announced its first foray into the Gulf country last August with a five-year deal for its Next Gen Finals, but Evert and Navratilova argued that the situation was different for women's tennis.

"We fully appreciate the importance of respecting diverse cultures and religions," the pair wrote in the Washington Post.

"It's because of this, and not despite it, that we oppose the awarding of the