Saudi fury at criticism from Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert
Former champions had published open letter calling on the WTA not to stage a tennis tournament in the country
Saudi Arabia has told Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova to “get their facts straight” amid an escalating row about the nation’s increasing profile in tennis. The Saudi ambassador to the US hit out after the two tennis greats wrote that the country was an incompatible choice as host for the next WTA Finals.
In a jointly-authored Washington Post column last week, the pair said that “the WTA’s values sit in stark contrast to those of the proposed host”.
The WTA came close to staging the 2023 Finals in Saudi, before going to Cancun in Mexico. However, the WTA is now believed to be close to moving the season-ending event to Riyadh for future tournaments.
“Not only is this a country where women are not seen as equal, it is a country where the current landscape includes a male guardianship law that essentially makes women the property of men,” says Evert and Navratilova’s article in the latest in a string of attacks on Saudi’s prospective investments in the sport. The pair add that Saudi Arabia “criminalises the LGBTQ community to the point of possible death sentences” and the country’s “long-term record on human rights and basic freedoms has been a matter of international concern for decades”.
The article is understood to have caused deep offence in Saudi Arabia, prompting Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud, the ambassador to the US, to hit back at “outdated stereotypes”.
“As a woman who has dedicated her life to the cause of women, it pained me deeply to read a column in The Washington Post objecting to Saudi Arabia hosting the Women’s Tennis Association Finals based on arguments that are outdated stereotypes and western-centric views of our culture,” read her lengthy statement on social media.
“Failing to acknowledge the great progress women have made in Saudi Arabia denigrates our remarkable journey. Like many women around the world, we looked to the legends of tennis as trailblazers and role models … glimmers of hope that women truly could achieve it all. But these champions have turned their back on the very same women they have inspired and it’s beyond disappointing.”
Addressing Evert and Navratilova’s criticism that women in Saudi Arabia are “essentially” the “property of men”, Princess Reema wrote: “On this, let me simply say: get your facts straight. What is often referred to as ‘guardianship’ no longer describes the status of Saudi women today.
“Women do not need the approval of a guardian to travel, work, or be the head of their household. Today, Saudi women own more than 300,000 businesses and roughly 25 per cent of small and mid-sized start-up companies, which is about the same percentage as the United States. Women in Saudi now enjoy equal pay, leading the way towards something that should be universal.
“While there’s still work to be done, the recent progress for women, the engagement of women in the workplace, and the social and cultural opportunities being created for women are truly profound and should not be overlooked.”
‘Trendy political arguments’
Telegraph Sport detailed earlier this month how British tennis chiefs had rejected an offer for their flagship Queen’s and Eastbourne tournaments to be part of an ATP sponsorship tie-up with Saudi’s PIF.
However, ATP executive chairman Andrea Gaudenzi is thought to have been in Riyadh in recent weeks finalising a sponsorship deal for PIF to brand the courtside display at four tournaments, as well as TV coverage of the nine Masters 1000 events.
