New WTA Finals Organization: Evaluating Stance Amidst Strong Opposition to Potential Saudi Arabia Move

The women’s tennis tour is reportedly looking to move the WTA Finals to Charlotte in a multi-year deal. The season-ending championships has not found a long-term host city since their deal with China fell apart. There has been increasing speculation that the WTA will be taking the Finals to Saudi Arabia, something that has sparked backlash with Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert claiming it would be a “step backward”.

The WTA Finals has been finding temporary host venues for the last few years, despite signing a 10-year deal to stage the event in Shenzhen from 2019. The Covid pandemic and the disappearance of Peng Shuai led to a breakdown of the agreement, and the tournament has since been staged in Guadalajara, Fort Worth and Cancun.

WTA 'looking at new Finals venue' after backlash over potential Saudi  Arabia move | Tennis | Sport | Express.co.uk

The decision to hold the 2023 edition of the tournament in Cancun was announced with less than two months’ notice following reports that the Finals were going to be moving to Saudi Arabia. The women’s tennis tour is still expected to be considering a move to Riyadh, but they are now exploring new options further down the line, including heading back to America.

According to the Charlotte Business Journal, the WTA is considering moving the tournament to Charlotte for “multiple years beginning in 2027.” The tour reportedly considered Charlotte’s Spectrum Center as a potential host venue for this year’s Finals and they have still “not selected a site for the 2024 WTA Finals.

When the WTA lands on a city for this year’s Finals, they are expected to sign a three-year deal from 2024 to 2026. This is why Charlotte will be a likely option from 2027 onwards. The Spectrum Center will be more appealing in three years, as it is set to undergo £170 million ($215 million) worth of renovations in 2025.

WTA facing pushback on mulled Finals move to Saudi | Reuters

It still leaves uncertainty over where the year-end championships will be staged in 2024 as the tour faces pushback over the possibility of going to Saudi Arabia. In a joint opinion piece in the Washington Post, Evert and Navratilova claimed the proposal is “entirely incompatible with the spirit and purpose of women’s tennis and the WTA itself.

Criticism of WTA Finals move to Saudi Arabia 'undermines women', claims  ambassador | The Independent

They added: “The WTA should revisit the values upon which it was established. We believe that those values cannot even be expressed, much less achieved, in Saudi Arabia. Taking a tournament there would represent a significant step backward, to the detriment not just of women’s sport, but women. We hope this changes someday, hopefully within the next five years. If so, we would endorse engagement there.”

It remains to be seen where the prestigious top-eight tournament is staged in 2024. But the WTA may avoid the hassle of finding more last-minute venues if they can sign a deal with Charlotte from 2027 onward.

Related Posts

Rafael Nadal Enjoys a Well-Deserved Break on the Costa del Sol with His Family

After his retirement, the tennis player enjoyed a family meal in Fuengirola, a town very close to Marbella and Estepona, where the tennis player has invested a million euros to build luxury homes. Nadal fought for every point until the end…

Read more

Serena Williams Flaunts Her Strength on the Tennis Court While Sharing Her Postpartum Weight Loss Journey

Serena Williams demonstrated her incredible flexibility an Instagram slideshow on Tuesday amid her postpartum weight loss journey. Decked out in a muted pink workout gear, the iconic athlete, 42, showed off some of her yoga moves on a tennis court and …

Read more

Venus Williams gets Wimbledon-ready in style with her matching pink outfit during practice

The sportswoman, 43, slipped into a pair of pale pink hot pants and a matching V-neck T-shirt for the session. She’s set to make her 24th appearance in the singles draw at Wimbledon after being given a wild-card entry on. And Venus Williams made sure …

Read more

Superhero moment: Venus Williams stuns with a sparkling Wonder Woman mask at Miami Open

She is a tennis superstar. But Venus Williams channeled an actual super hero as she faced off against Zarina Diyas in the Miami Open on Tuesday. Venus, 40, looked fierce as she arrived to the match wearing a Wonder Woman face mask and coordinating dress. …

Read more

Rafael Nadal’s Epic Journey: How He Became a Tennis Icon?

TPO – Rafael Nadal has officially retired from tennis, but he will always be remembered as a great player with a strong will, an endless desire to win and a constant effort to improve himself. Rafael Nadal must have been in great pain when …

Read more

Family Goals: Alexis Ohanian and Daughters Celebrate Serena Williams’ Incredible Journey

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian are approaching nearly a decade of their remarkable partnership. What began as a chance encounter filled with humor blossomed into a loving marriage and parenthood, with the couple now raising two beautiful daughters. …

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *