Martina Navratilova finds it ‘really weird’ not ‘seeing the crowd’ during WTA Finals matches in Riyadh

Martina Navratilova has always criticized the decision to stage the WTA Finals in Riyadh because of Saudi Arabia's human rights records.


Martina Navratilova finds it ‘really weird’ not ‘seeing the crowd’ during WTA Finals matches in Riyadh

Martina Navratilova (Image via Imago)

The WTA Finals have kick-started on November 2 in Riyadh. Martina Navratilova found it weird not seeing the crowd during the matches. She had previously criticized WTA’s decision to move the WTA Finals to Riyadh because of the country’s human rights record.

Navratilova and her former rival, Chris Evert even wrote a letter to WTA and opposed the move. They felt WTA’s decision represented ‘taking a significant step backward’ after working so hard to empower women in a male-dominated world.

YouTube video

On Sunday (November 3), the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion took to X and asked why she did not see the crowd during the broadcast of the year-end event.

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Finding it really weird not ever seeing the crowd when showing matches- not during the match and not at all after the match. Just odd….#WTAFinalsRiyadh.

Martina Navratilova wrote on X

Check out her tweet here:

Although Navratilova has been straightforward about what she thinks of Saudi Arabia being a host of the WTA Finals, players on tour have different opinions. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has no problem playing in Saudi Arabia as she thinks tennis can bring a change in the country and help improve women’s lives.

Coco Gauff, on the other hand, admitted she had ‘reservations’ and wants the WTA to have a ‘real plan’ behind their decision to stage the event in the Arab nation so that there are changes in the future.

Tim Henman joins Martina Navratilova as he’s embarrassed to see around 400 fans during WTA Finals match

Amid the debate about staging the WTA Finals in Riyadh, there’s also a discussion about the crowd watching the matches. Tim Henman, like Martina Navratilova, was shocked to see a crowd of around ‘400’ fans for the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

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Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff are playing in the WTA Finals in Riyadh (Images via Tennis Infinity, WTA, The New Yorker)

There’s been plenty of debate over whether sporting events should be coming to Saudi Arabia but if we move past that and just look at this WTA Finals as an event, it’s extremely disappointing when you’ve got the world’s best players- Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff-performing in front of a crowd like that today.

Tim Henman said (via Telegraph)

Barbora Krejcikova, after losing to Iga Swiatek, said that though there weren’t many fans, the atmosphere was ‘nice’. Coco Gauff opined that it’s just a part of ‘growing the game’ because the event is being held in Riyadh for the first time.