RIYADH, Oct 29 — The world’s top women’s tennis players are fully on board with the controversial decision to stage this year’s tour finals in Saudi Arabia, tournament director Garbine Muguruza told AFP on Monday.

“I think that they’re all very excited. They were all asking me so many questions about what to expect, what to do,” said Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam champion and winner of the 2021 season-ending contest.

She said she had not heard any reservations from players about making the trip to the Gulf kingdom, which tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova blasted earlier this year for its human rights record.

“I only have heard positive things and we’re here. I mean it’s a new country for us. It’s a new market that is being very welcome to us,” Muguruza said.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced in April that Riyadh would host the next three editions of the finals.

This year’s showpiece featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams will be staged from November 2-9.

It will feature a battle between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek to see who will close out the year ranked number one.

“The number one spot is in play with Iga and Sabalenka… It’s going to be fierce, so I can’t wait to see how they handle all that pressure,” Muguruza said.

Arij Mutabagani, president of the Saudi Tennis Federation, said she hoped the tournament would help grow the sport locally.

“I think the most important thing for us as a federation is that this event will help us inspire one million into tennis by 2030,” she told AFP.

“That is our end goal.”

Nadal’s exit ‘bittersweet’

The tennis world’s embrace of Saudi Arabia has drawn criticism, most notably from Evert and Navratilova who penned an opinion article in The Washington Post headlined: “We did not help build women’s tennis for it to be exploited by Saudi Arabia”.

The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, shot back in a social media post, saying the two tennis legends based their stance on “outdated stereotypes”.

Other players including Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur have spoken out in support of the Saudi tennis push.

The WTA Finals comes less than a month after Riyadh hosted a high-profile men’s exhibition tournament featuring two of the “Big Three” – Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal — and the world’s current top-ranked players Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Talk of Nadal’s upcoming retirement dominated that event, and Muguruza on Monday it was “bittersweet” to see her fellow Spaniard call it quits.

“We want to see him forever… He’s been an idol for all of us,” she said.

“It’s sad, but I know that he’s just going to enjoy a new life that he deserves.” — AFP