MELBOURNE: A little over two years after human rights groups applauded the WTA for stopping its competitions in China, the women’s circuit runs the risk of infuriating them again by considering relocating its season-ending Finals to Saudi Arabia.
Tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have led to a great deal of backlash against the idea that the event may move to the Gulf nation, and speculation about it has grown.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made significant investments in sports, including golf, Formula One, and soccer, despite accusations from certain quarters that the country uses its Public Investment Fund to “sportswash” its human rights record.
Human Rights Watch’s Minky Worden told Reuters from New York that “the human rights risks in Saudi Arabia to players, fans, and journalists are very serious.”
Since 2018, women and girls have been the only athletes permitted to play sports like tennis in the kingdom. Women and girls were not allowed in the stadium until then, not even to watch sports.”
Saudi Arabia disputes claims of violating human rights and asserts that its legal system safeguards its security as a nation.
The World Tennis Association (WTA) informed Reuters that it was in talks with other groups for the 2024 Finals, but that no decision had been taken. Last year, WTA CEO Steve Simon stated that Saudi Arabia faced “big issues”.
Though Evert and Navratilova contended that the circumstances for women’s tennis were different, the men’s ATP Tour announced in August that it would be making its maiden trip to the Gulf nation with a five-year arrangement for its Next Gen Finals.
The couple stated in the Washington Post, “We fully appreciate the importance of respecting diverse cultures and religions.” “It’s because of this, and not despite it, that we oppose the awarding of the tour’s crown jewel tournament to Riyadh.”The potential host’s values are diametrically opposed to those of the WTA.”
When the WTA hosted the 2019 Finals in Shenzhen, with a $14 million prize fund, a few years ago, the future appeared entirely different. Shenzhen had defeated proposals from Prague, St. Petersburg, Singapore, and Manchester for a 10-year contract.
However, the event had to be canceled the next year because to China’s response to the COVID issue; instead, it was moved to Guadalajara, Mexico in 2021.
The WTA paused its billion-dollar operations in China because of worries about Peng Shuai’s treatment, the former doubles world number one. It was anticipated that Shenzhen would reopen in 2022.
Human rights organizations applauded the WTA’s stance and expressed their dissatisfaction when the tour did a U-turn in April of last year, posting eight-figure losses in 2020 and 2021.
The WTA was originally planning to move the 2022 Finals to Saudi Arabia last year, but less than two months before the competition began, the Texas city of Fort Worth stepped in to host the tournament, garnering a scant attendance.
It didn’t work out.
After Aryna Sabalenka claimed her second Australian Open championship on Saturday, Simon wrote a statement to players acknowledging that the event was “not perfect” because she felt “disrespected” by the level of organization.
‘AMAZING EXPERIENCE’
Sabalenka expressed her happiness to participate in the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia, should they take place there, following a “amazing experience” at an exhibition event in Riyadh towards the end of the previous year.
“I had anticipated a different outcome. They were quite kind to us,” Sabalenka remarked in Melbourne. “The stadium had a truly fantastic vibe. They are avid tennis players.There was no denying that the level of hospitality was far higher than in Cancun. Yes, I’m excited to visit there. Although she advised prudence, world champion Iga Swiatek acknowledged that participation could advance human rights.
For women, “it’s not easy in these areas,” according to Swiatek. “Obviously these countries also want to change and improve politically and sociologically”. Caroline Wozniacki, a former Grand Slam champion, too saw it as a chance to bring about change.
“I obviously realise, the human rights and everything else, but I think when it’s inevitable that they have so much money to put into sports,” she stated.
“When you’re put in that situation, you can maybe make a change and do something positive.” Many people believe that Saudi participation in tennis is unavoidable and generally positive.
This month, Rafael Nadal became an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation, and David Haggerty, the head of the International Tennis Federation, declared that his organization was dedicated to expanding tennis worldwide.
“We have 213 nations and we’ve got to make sure that we’re doing what we can to grow grassroots tennis,” Haggerty stated. “We’ll work closely with the president of the federation to grow tennis in the country and the region.”
Worden stated that tennis organizations must openly carry out their due diligence on human rights matters and evaluate the risks to their female athletes, supporters, and media before entering Saudi Arabia.
“There is a way for women’s tennis to engage with Saudi Arabia and accept government investment,” Worden stated. “But it has to be within a formal framework of human rights, to protect the rights of fans, players, journalists and the legacy of women’s tennis as defending equality.”
Former Panama striker ‘Matador’ Tejada dies at age 41
(Reuters) – Luis “Matador” Tejada, a former striker for Panama who earned over 100 caps for his nation, passed away on Sunday at the age of 41, according to the Panamanian Football Federation (FEPAFUT).
According to local media, Tejada was participating in a veterans game outside of Panama City when he passed out. He was rushed to a clinic for treatment, when it was announced that he had passed away.
Tejada, who was instrumental in Panama’s 2018 World Cup qualification, was honored by FEPAFUT.
In our nation, development and football go hand in hand. We send our deepest sympathies. We shall always remember you, darling,” FEPAFUT wrote in a message on X.
With 43 goals, Tejada is the national team’s leading scorer having played 108 games.
Shaw strikes again as Man City grab 2-0 WSL win over Spurs
(Reuters) – Khadija Shaw, a striker for Manchester City, scored her team’s 13th goal in the Women’s Super League this season on Sunday as they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 on the road to maintain their second-place rankings and put pressure on leaders Chelsea.
After Amy Turner’s early own goal, the 26-year-old Jamaican doubled City’s lead in the second half. For Spurs, Martha Thomas had the best chance to score, but her attempt was disqualified for offside.
After 12 games, the victory puts City at 28 points, three points behind the defending champion Chelsea, who defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 on Saturday. On goal differential, City continues to lead third-place Arsenal, who easily defeated Liverpool 2-0 on the road in Sunday’s late match.
Liverpool did a great job keeping the Gunners scoreless in the first half, but the Londoners ended up with three points thanks to a tap-in by Caitlin Foord nine minutes later and a deflected rocket from Vivianne Miedema on the hour mark.
Earlier in the afternoon, fullback Janice Cayman scored the game’s lone goal as Leicester City defeated Everton 1-0 on Merseyside, and Nikita Parris scored twice to help Manchester United defeat Aston Villa 2-1 at home.
West Ham United, in 11th place in the standings, allayed their fears of going down as they defeated Bristol City, the bottom team in the 12-member league, 2-1. The match included fifteen minutes of stoppage time in the second half.
