The kingdom, which has been accused of trying to “sportswash” its human rights record, hosted the WTA Finals, part of its unstoppable advance into the world of sports.
The sellout crowd was bathed in purple light and the screens ringing the stadium flashed a countdown to a clubby beat. The latest conquest in Saudi Arabia’s unstoppable advance into the world of sports — soccer, golf, boxing, car racing, now tennis — was about to begin. The Women’s Tennis Association Finals had come to Riyadh.
For one night, the capital of an authoritarian, conservative kingdom where progress on women’s rights is still stop-and-go was about to be home to one of the most prestigious events in women’s tennis.
“Change the game,” an announcer intoned just before the players in the singles final, Coco Gauff of the United States and Zheng Qinwen of China, emerged onto the court to huge cheers from the crowd, which included many Saudi women. “Redefine power.”
In another place, those words might have come off as little more than a girl-power slogan for women’s sports. But in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night, it was the host country redefining who held power in women’s tennis and beyond.
For years now, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler, has used Saudi oil riches to remake his staid kingdom into a global player with glitz to match, pairing tectonic social changes with intensifying repression.
Sports are a major part of the crown prince’s transformational push. Saudi Arabia muscled into professional golf by pouring $2 billion into an upstart competitor to the PGA Tour, which disdained the Saudi league before eventually deciding to partner with it. The country burst onto the international soccer scene by purchasing the English Premier League team Newcastle United, luring some of the biggest names in soccer to the Saudi Pro League and winning a bid to host the 2034 World Cup.
Moving into tennis, Saudi Arabia recently hosted the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition showcasing the top men’s players. And it struck a three-year deal with the financially struggling WTA to bring its finals to Riyadh in part with the promise of awarding some $15 million in prize money this year. Those are the highest winnings in the history of women’s tennis, satisfying players’ demands for prize parity with men.
More professional tennis events are likel
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