Coco Gauff believes bringing the WTA Finals to Saudi Arabia can “open doors” and bring about positive change for women in the country, although the world number three admitted: “I would be lying to you if I said that I have no reservations.”

The WTA has signed a three-year deal with the Saudi Tennis Federation to host its season finale in Riyadh. The first edition begins on Saturday at the King Saud University Indoor Arena.

The WTA has come under fire for its decision to go to Saudi Arabia. Critics cited the conservative kingdom's record on free speech and women's rights as reasons against the move.

Gauff, 20, admits she had reservations about the idea of ​​hosting the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia and wanted to see for herself what progress had been made.

“Of course I am very aware of the situation here in Saudi Arabia. In my opinion, sport is a way to open doors for people. I think to want change you have to see it. I think, “I think sport is the easiest way to introduce that,” said the US star.

“I would be lying to you if I said I didn't have reservations. I was on pretty much every player call I could make in the WTA. One of the things I said: When we come here, we can't just come here and go. We have to play our tournament and go.

Gauff said the calls included conversations with Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, in which Gauff asked questions about LGBTQ+ and women's rights in the country.

“In the long term, I think it could be better for everyone,” said the American.

“It's one of those things where I want to see it for myself and see if the change is happening. If I felt uncomfortable or felt like nothing was happening, I probably wouldn’t come back.”

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said she was “really happy” to play a part in bringing women's tennis to Saudi Arabia and praised the country's efforts to attract top sporting events.

“I was here at a friendly match with Ons (Jabeur last year) and I saw that everything is pretty relaxed here and I personally have no problems playing here,” said the Belarusian.

“The effort they put into women’s sport here is incredible and I’m really impressed. I’m really happy to be here and to be part of some kind of history here.”

WTA chief executive Portia Archer defended the tour's decision to host the final in Riyadh.

“This is our first time in Riyadh, but we have been in the broader Middle East for over 20 years,” Archer said, referring to the WTA tournaments that have been held in Dubai and Doha since 2001.

“We've never actually had any problems with freedom of expression, at least not as far as I know. I don’t expect we will have any while we are here in Riyadh.”

Asked whether the WTA's values ​​align with those of the host country, Archer said: “We respect the values, even if they differ from those of other countries where we are and in which we compete.”

Str/DJ