Apart from the buzz and excitement around major events, tennis enthusiasts have also been preoccupied with recent news of potential Saudi Arabian investments in tennis. After reports of the ATP next-gen finals being shifted to Jeddah gripped the tennis world, news of Saudi hosting the WTA Finals this year started doing the rounds.
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But putting the rumors to rest, it was announced that the WTA Finals 2023 will be held in Cancun, Mexico, from October 29 to November 5. However, a decision regarding stadium investments for the event has left tennis fans in utter dismay.
Fans lambast WTA’s decision to spend $6 million for stadium construction in Cancun
Mexico is all set to host the WTA finals this year, comprising the top 8 players of the world in Cancun, Quintana Roo. The WTA announced that a sum of $6 million has been allotted for the construction of a temporary stadium in Cancun. A further $9 million is allocated for other expenditures of the event, including the prize purse.
Correction🚨: loads of articles & misquoting the figures. The 15 mil includes the 9 mil prize money so around 6 mil to build the stadium
Fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to lash out at the WTA administration for spending such an amount for the construction of a temporary stadium.
A fan criticized WTA’s move, while also hitting out at its lack of a proper app and ‘decent website’.
yet they can't make a working app or a decent website for WTA TV.😭
wait so they're spending 15 mil to build a temporary stadium for the Cancun finals, & the WTA will be paying it out of pocket according to those early reports?.....ok
Another voiced their strong displeasure due to this not being a ‘long-term investment’.
i would applaud this if it were a long term investment into finals in cancun but it's a TEMPORARY STADIUM and watch their asses go straight to s@udi next year...🚶
wait so they're spending 15 mil to build a temporary stadium for the Cancun finals, & the WTA will be paying it out of pocket according to those early reports?.....ok
One user theorized the reason behind such a move from WTA, alluding to the rumors of a possible Saudi association from next year.
it’s giving Saudi Arabia lined the WTA’s pockets so they could foot the bill for this and reject Prague. All for them to get the ticket next year
wait so they're spending 15 mil to build a temporary stadium for the Cancun finals, & the WTA will be paying it out of pocket according to those early reports?.....ok
A fan voiced their displeasure by simply referring to WTA as ‘big’ and ‘stupid’.
WTA is just big and stupid
wait so they're spending 15 mil to build a temporary stadium for the Cancun finals, & the WTA will be paying it out of pocket according to those early reports?.....ok
One accused WTA of ‘money laundering’ and urged for a proper investigation.
Another claimed that they can ‘fix’ WTA if put in charge.
somebody put me in charge of wta, i can fix it
wait so they're spending 15 mil to build a temporary stadium for the Cancun finals, & the WTA will be paying it out of pocket according to those early reports?.....ok
One strongly criticized the decision, claiming that it made ‘zero sense’.
WTA should rename to IJBOLTA, cause every decision they make is absolutely hilarious, cause it makes zero sense.
wait so they're spending 15 mil to build a temporary stadium for the Cancun finals, & the WTA will be paying it out of pocket according to those early reports?.....ok
A fan urged the top 8 players to simply not take part in the event.
A user called out the WTA for its ‘horrific business sense’ and labeled the decision as an ’embarrassment’.
It is genuinely a staggering miracle the WTA still exists at all with such horrific business sense and money wasted. How does the WTA board keep getting away with this without ANY accountability? It’s an embarrassment.
wait so they're spending 15 mil to build a temporary stadium for the Cancun finals, & the WTA will be paying it out of pocket according to those early reports?.....ok
Another expressed their strong dislike for the current chief executive of WTA, Steve Simon.
The attack on WTA’s business sense continued.
Does the WTA have a Board their executive team has to answer to? Their business sense is staggeringly bad.
wait so they're spending 15 mil to build a temporary stadium for the Cancun finals, & the WTA will be paying it out of pocket according to those early reports?.....ok
One raised question marks on the decision to spend so much on a stadium that won’t be used the following year.
???? a new stadium they will not use the following year 😐
wait so they're spending 15 mil to build a temporary stadium for the Cancun finals, & the WTA will be paying it out of pocket according to those early reports?.....ok
Although Saudi Arabia isn’t hosting the event this year, it seems more likely with each rumor that WTA might shift bases to the country for this event next year onwards. Not long ago, Saudi’s proposal of a colossal prize money bag for the WTA Finals came to the fore.
Monumental WTA Finals prize money proposed by Saudi Arabia
Although many have voiced their concerns over tennis’ association with Saudi Arabia, it clearly seems like a certainty at this point in time. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia made a tempting offer by bidding a whopping $12 million as prize money alongside another $8 million in staging fees in order to host the WTA Finals in Riyadh. This would triple the current prize money pool of the event, thereby making way for a considerable financial gain for the players as well as the WTA.
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The WTA logo outside the Grandstand court on Day Four of The Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2015 at the Foro Italico on May 13, 2015 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Though the WTA decided not to go with Saudi this year, the country remains strongly linked as the preferred destination for the WTA Finals event for next year and possibly in the following years too. What do you feel about WTA’s potential association with Saudi Arabia? Let us know in the comments.
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