Vociferous John McEnroe Questions Idol Billie Jean King’s Saudi Arabia Affinity With a Strong Statement

In recent times, there has been substantial debate about whether the WTA Finals event should be relocated to Saudi Arabia. A lot of prominent tennis players like Billie Jean King support the change, but on the other hand, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are strongly against it. But now ATP star John McEnroe has added his voice to the debate, sharing his thoughts on the proposed move.

At the same time, John McEnroe revealed his baffled thoughts, with King supporting the decision to move the WTA Finals to Saudi Arabia. Let’s take a look at what the 65-year-old American tennis star has to say about King’s stand in the whole debate.

John McEnroe baffled by Billie Jean King’s supportive move
There has been a long discussion going on about whether the WTA Finals, one of the biggest year-end events of the tour, should take place in Saudi or not, looking into the conditions surrounding women in the country. Recently, when the same question was asked to the seven-time Grand Slam champion by Reuters, he expressed his confused thoughts over why someone like King, who has supported women’s growth, is supporting such a thought.

He stated, “I love Billie Jean. I’d like to speak to her about why she thinks that’s a good thing, because to me it’s not. But I’m an outsider looking in … It’s like, ‘why in the hell would the WTA play their event there, where there’s human rights issues still going on today.” Further, he also detailed how the WTA should not go to a place where human rights issues still exist in their crucial form. Along with that, he added, “I’ve never been there. Apparently things have improved to some level, so it’s not like I’m some sort of expert. When I read about it, I completely disagreed with it.”

Moreover, John McEnroe also dwelled on how there might be a lot of things that might have improved in the country, but he, as a tennis player who has seen the WTA, firmly disagrees with the take. Just a few weeks ago, Evert and Navratilova shared a letter, describing how it’s not easy to move an event to Saudi.

Evert and Navratilova’s firm stand against the WTA move
A few weeks ago, the two greats sent an open letter that Sports Illustrated was able to receive, that expressed their concerns about the city that could potentially host the WTA Finals. In the note, Evert and Navratilova stated, “We fully appreciate the importance of respecting diverse cultures and religions. It is because of this, and not in spite of it, that we believe allowing Saudi Arabia to host the WTA finals is entirely incompatible with the spirit and purpose of women’s tennis, and the WTA itself.”

In addition, they emphasized how the nation that criminalizes same sex activity and gender expression of Trans people is also the one where women are not viewed as equals. Taking the WTA Finals in such a nation would be a major step backward, even when everything else is moving forward.