The host country for the 2024 WTA Finals has been officially declared, as it has been confirmed that the season-ending tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia for the next three consecutive years. The upcoming event in Riyadh will feature a prize pool of $15.25 million, with expectations for it to continue to grow in the following years of 2025 and 2026.
The previous edition of the tournament was held in Cancun, Mexico in 2023 and had a total prize pool of $9 million. This amount is more than $6 million less than what the Saudi Tennis Federation has announced for their latest partnership.
“Bringing the WTA Finals to Riyadh is an exciting new opportunity for us and a positive step for the long-term growth of women’s tennis as a global and inclusive sport.”
“We’ve been impressed by the commitment shown by the Saudi Tennis Federation to grow the sport at all levels, and we have no doubt that players and fans can look forward to a world-class event in Riyadh as the finale to the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons,”WTA chairman Steve Simon said in a statement during the announcement.
Despite the announcement, many fans expressed disappointment on social media and condemned the WTA for being complicit in Saudi Arabia’s “sportswashing.”It should be noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a negative reputation for its human rights record, particularly in regards to the treatment of women and the LGBTQ+ community, making it an unsuitable location for such an event.
Some people on Twitter criticized the WTA for prioritizing money over the values it was originally established upon, with one fan questioning whether top players will choose to boycott the tournament in response.
“You are disgusting and disrespectful for all women! You care only for money. That’s it. There will be no crowd or anything like this,”one fan wrote.
“Shame on you,”another tweeted.
“Everything this organisation works towards for equality for women has been trampled on. Yes it’s amazing the money these women can earn, however where it is coming from is a disgrace. I wonder if there will be boycotts by the top players, one fan said.
Some fans expressed their disappointment with the announcement by sarcastically commenting that they were not shocked by the WTA’s ultimate “backing out”of the decision.
“”The ability to deliver and fund a word-class event for players and fans”lool… WTA NOW:”one fan said, along with an animated gif.
“Another day, another WTA shambles. Bottled it big time,”a fan said.
Despite the concerns raised by fans on Twitter, the women’s tennis organization proceeded with choosing Saudi Arabia as the location for the WTA Finals, seemingly disregarding the safety of both players and fans who would be attending the end-of-season event.
“All about the money, zero regard for player and fan safety,”another user wrote.
“Money over human rights, I get it,”one fan said sarcastically.
“Transforming Tennis in Saudi Arabia: The Impact of Hosting the WTA Finals on the Next Generation”
Upon hearing the news, Saudi Tennis Federation president Arij Mutabagani expressed his immense excitement to The National, emphasizing the significant impact this decision will have on the growth of tennis in the country. He believes that it will particularly encourage more young girls to take up the sport.
“Hosting the WTA Finals is absolutely huge for the future of tennis in Saudi Arabia and growing sport in general, especially amongst our young girls. And that’s entirely our focus, to inspire future generations of players and celebrate women’s tennis,”she said.
“We want to help them to believe that they too belong on centre court, as seeing is believing,”she added.
Mutabagani reassured fans that all individuals would be welcomed in Riyadh. He noted that the country is progressing with the changing times and believes that the presence of the top WTA players will only aid them in their journey.
“Everyone will be made to feel extremely welcome. Our country is moving forward. Much has been achieved already and many historic steps taken by women in all sectors in recent years, with sport driving much of the progress across our entire society.”
“So, we have real momentum and hosting the world’s best tennis players in Riyadh will only accelerate our transformation and help grow the game further,”she said.
The 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh will see Iga Swiatek defending her title as the singles champion, after winning the tournament for the first time last year by defeating Jessica Pegula in the final.
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