Former US Open champion Coco Gauff‘s honesty cuts through like a blade. In an unfiltered confession, the American player poured her heart out about the WTA Tour Finals in Saudi Arabia. Her ambitions combined with social thoughts offer an interesting perspective about inclusivity. As Gauff lays bare her heart, she showcases how she aspires to be a player who advocates social issues through her sport.

Gauff will play her debut match at the 2024 WTA Finals against former doubles partner Jessica Pegula tomorrow. The former Grand Slam winner won the 2024 China Open and became a semifinalist at the Wuhan Open. Now she is gearing up for her third WTA Finals in Riyadh. Gauff ended her last year’s Tour Final as a semifinalist after Pegula defeated her. While she seems in a good state now, she was apprehensive about participating this season. But, why?

Gauff spoke her mind in a press conference before the tournament. “I would be lying to you if I said I had no reservations. I was pretty much on every player call I could make with the WTA. One of the things I said, if we come here, we can’t just come here and play our tournament and leave. We have to have a real program or real plan in place,” she said. Gauff’s words echoed her objective about playing in Saudi Arabia. She revealed about talking to many women here and highlighted the issues with women’s rights and others. However, she is not here only to bring change but to inspire people towards her favorite sport. “I am also very aware that we’re not going to come here and just change everything. That would every nuance to say. But it’s a nuance kind of conversation,” said Gauff.

The former US Open champion’s statement showed she backed WTA on their decision to host the tournament in Saudi Arabia. Along with Gauff, another talented WTA star has expressed great enthusiasm over coming to Riyadh to play in the WTA Tour Finals.

Aryna Sabalenka doesn’t “have any issues” playing in Riyadh

Like Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka also felt nice coming to Riyadh. Mentioning her “really happy” state of mind, Sabalenka said, “I’ve been here in an exhibition match with Ons (Jabeur last year) and I saw that everything here is quite chill and me, personally, I don’t have any issues playing here, The effort they’re putting into women’s sport here, it’s incredible and I’m really impressed. I’m really happy to be here and to be part of some sort of history here.”

Portia Archer, the WTA Chief Executive Officer also revealed how they had organized tours in Dubai and Doha since 2001. “We’ve actually never had any issues with freedom of expression, at least not that I’m aware of. I don’t expect that we’ll have any while we’re here in Riyadh,” said Archer.

The WTA Tour Finals go underway in Riyadh today. While there has been excitement about the matches, the fraternity is also looking forward to seeing how their experience in Riyadh works out. What are your thoughts on WTA Finals taking place in Riyadh.

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