Coco Gauff has served up a thoughtful answer when quizzed about sportswashing concerns ahead of the WTA Finals being held in Saudi Arabia.
The Middle Eastern nation has increased its influence over several sports in recent years, including football, boxing and tennis.
Six of the ATP’s biggest and best players recently played a lucrative exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia, but it’s the WTA Finals that have commanded the most criticism.
The showpiece event at the end of the women’s tennis season will be hosted in Riyadh, with the action getting underway this weekend.
The 2023 US Open winner Gauff has admitted she has had ‘reservations’ about competing and said the WTA must have a ‘real programme in place’ to make sure change comes.
When asked if she had any concerns about competing in Saudi Arabia, she replied: “No, I would be lying to you if I said I had no reservations. Obviously you know who I am and the things I speak about.
“I was pretty much on every player call I could make with WTA. One of the things I said, if we come here, we can’t just come here and play our tournament and leave. Like, we have to have a real programme or real plan in place.
“We spoke with a lot of women here in Saudi. One of them was Princess Reema. Multiple calls with her, how the best approach would be to enter into this different place that women have never kind of, women from the US, have never kind of been in.”
