Watson: Saudi Arabia and Tennis Will Benefit from Hosting WTA Finals

Tennis analyst, Cassius Watson, believes both Saudi Arabia and women’s tennis will benefit from the Asian country hosting the WTA finals.

The governing body for women’s tennis announced that Saudi Arabia will host the WTA Finals for the next three years and offer record prize money of US $15.25 million.

The event, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams of the year, will be the highest-profile tennis tournament held in the country.

Watson says the move will help to further promote the women’s game.

The WTA came close to staging the 2023 Finals in Saudi, before going to Cancun in Mexico. This year’s Finals will take place from November 2-9, in Riyadh.

The Next Gen ATP Finals, which features the best men under 21, was held in Saudi Arabia last year.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of using events to ‘sportswash’ its reputation amid accusations of violating human rights and restricting women’s lives and freedom of speech.

Watson says there are some positives to the agreement.

Cassius Watson.