WTA Finals venue finally confirmed in announcement likely to divide tennis

Oli Dickson Jefford
Iga Swiatek won the 2023 WTA Finals
Iga Swiatek was the 2023 WTA Finals champion

The WTA has finally confirmed that the WTA Finals will head to Saudi Arabia following months of rumours suggesting that the year-end showpiece would be heading to the Arab state.

In an announcement made earlier this afternoon, the governing body of women’s tennis announced a three-year deal for the Finals to be held in the capital city of Riyadh.

It means that the tournament, one of the most prestigious on tour, will finally have a permanent home after travelling to three different venues across the past three years.

Following the breakdown of a long-term contract to hold the event in Shenzhen, players have headed to Guadalajara, Fort Worth, and Cancun in recent seasons for the Finals, often with little notice and with doubts about how well the events were managed.

Today’s announcement confirms that Riyadh will host the WTA Finals later this year and in 2025 and 2026, though it seems highly plausible that the deal could later be extended.

In total there will be a prize money pool of $15.25 million, not only one of the largest pay packets in women’s tennis, but one of the largest across women’s sport as a whole.

In a statement, Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO, said: “Bringing the WTA Finals to Riyadh is an exciting new opportunity for us and a positive step for the long-term growth of women’s tennis as a global and inclusive sport.

“We’ve been impressed by the commitment shown by the Saudi Tennis Federation to grow the sport at all levels, and we have no doubt that players and fans can look forward to a world-class event in Riyadh as the finale to the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons.”

This will not be the first time that WTA players have played in Saudi Arabia, with Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka playing an exhibition as recently as last December.

Elsewhere, the ATP held their NextGen Finals in Jeddah at the tail end of 2023 as well, while the men’s tour has also recently launched a new rankings sponsorship with the nation’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

However, this is a decision that is likely to raise more than a few eyebrows and create debate not only within the women’s game but across the sporting world as a whole.

While the likes of Jabeur and Sabalenka have expressed optimism about the potential of such an event, tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert have publicly called for the tournament not to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Concerns have also been raised repeatedly by human rights groups about the treatment of women and members of the LGBTQ+ community in the country.

These concerns were partially, but not directly, addressed in the official WTA release by Arij Mutabagani, President of the Saudi Tennis Federation and the first elected female president of any Saudi Arabian sports federation.

She commented: “Everyone will be made to feel extremely welcome. Our country is moving forward. Much has been achieved already and many historic steps taken by women in all sectors in recent years, with sport driving much of the progress across our entire society.

“So, we have real momentum and hosting the world’s best tennis players in Riyadh will only accelerate our transformation and help grow the game further.”