US Open favorite goes in opposition to the grain and pushes for Saudi tennis occasions
US Open fifth seed Ons Jabeur is pushing for the ATP and WTA to take a few of their occasions to Saudi Arabia. It has already been confirmed that the lads’s Next Gen Finals shall be staged in Jeddah till 2027.
Recent studies have additionally prompt that the WTA Finals could possibly be hosted in Riyadh. However, many gamers are sceptial over competing in Saudi due to the nation’s poor human rights report.
But 2022 US Open finalist Jabeur is worked up on the prospect of competing within the Middle East. “As an Arab player, I’d be very excited to be there,” Jabeur mentioned. “I am someone pushing for a change, pushing to give more and more opportunities especially for women.
“I do know in Saudi they’re altering issues and so they’re evolving. I’ve been there final 12 months to provide a speech and interview there. It was very good assembly quite a lot of wonderful girls there. For me, I used to be making an attempt to push to have tennis in Saudi.”
Jabeur insisted that it could be a constructive transfer in internet hosting a WTA occasion in Saudi. She added: “I believe it’s a terrific step. I believe it’s one thing that might assist the Arab world to have extra tennis gamers, to get extra concerned in sports activities.
“If they play there, and hopefully if I qualify, it will be a great honour and opportunity for me to go and play there, especially meeting a lot of women. They told me they look up to me. That would be a great opportunity for me to meet them and speak to them.”
Tennis icon Martina Navratilova took to Twitter to say that she would have boycotted any occasions in Saudi. She wrote: “Hard to believe I am getting c**p for saying I would not go play tennis in Saudi Arabia. From all kinds of angles. WTAF???.”
Current world No 1 Iga Swiatek is holding her playing cards near her chest however is pissed off by the delay in saying the venue for the WTA Finals.
“I don’t have a lot of thoughts because we hear many stuff on tour. I’m still waiting for, like, the final decision. We as players, we are not involved in all the discussions. I’m kind of waiting on what WTA will tell us,” Swiatek mentioned.
“For sure, it’s pretty unfortunate and annoying we don’t have any decision yet. But I’ll see. I’ll probably have more to say when the decision is going to be out.
“Obviously we wish to know as a result of it is arduous to plan additionally what is going on to occur after,” she said. “I might like to play Billie Jean King Cup Finals, particularly once we acquired a wild card. I do not know the place the Finals are going to be, how it is going to look with the touring and every part.”