Judy Murray comes under fire for promoting tennis in Saudi Arabia amidst human rights issues

Judy Murray comes under fire for promoting tennis in Saudi Arabia amidst human rights issues

Judy Murray

The mother of popular tennis professionals Jamie Murray and Andy Murray, Judy Murray is a tennis coach herself. She has made immense contributions to the field of sports and popularized tennis in Great Britain.

Judy Murray is in the eye of a storm as she has been from time to time honored with many accolades for her efforts. She had to face extreme backlash over her participation in the exhibition event Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia.

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While her son Andy Murray declined the offer to play in Saudi Arabia, Judy Murray decided to go there to promote tennis amongst young women. This move did not go down well with NGO Amnesty International, which condemned her activities to support women’s tennis in Saudi Arabia.

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“While promoting women’s sport in a country that has long stifled the human rights of women and girls is a positive thing, it is important that Judy Murray realizes that she is being asked to play a role as a sports launderer in Saudi Arabia. Saudi. We encourage Judy Murray, as we would other participants in the Diriyah Tennis Cup, to use the opportunity to speak out and show solidarity with those who are persecuted in the relentless crackdown on human rights by Saudi Arabia,” Amnesty International gave a statement.

At the time of writing, Judy Murray has given no reactions to the issue. However, it will be pretty interesting to know what she has to say on this matter.

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All participants are facing backlash

Diriyah Tennis Cup 2022 (Image Credit: UBITennis)

Saudi Arabia’s government is in a peculiar situation when it comes to human rights. It is currently facing numerous allegations of human rights violations by many people both men and women. However, the Saudi Government has continuously denied all allegations.

The Diriyah Tennis Cup is an exhibition event organized in the heritage city of Diriyah and played between the 8th and 10th of December. The Saudi Government invited many players from across the world to participate in this event. Many players including Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, and Dominic Thiem amongst others glittered at the event with their dazzling skills. The tournament has no affiliation with ATP.

However, the players faced continuous criticism over their participation in the tournament. Many people and a large section of the media also urged the people to not follow their commitments.

“This tennis tournament is just another example of Saudi Arabia’s desire to atone for its bloody human rights crimes through sport. What Saudi Arabia is looking for in these competitions are smiling sports stars who will meticulously avoid talking about human rights,” the NGO explained.

The event concluded successfully on the 10th of December with Taylor Fritz defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final.

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