Like other sports, women’s tennis is looking into the possibility of getting into business with Saudi Arabia. And while holding a tournament there is not imminent, WTA chairman and chief executive Steve Simon said Friday that he visited that country with some players in February as part of the evaluation process.
He acknowledged there “are still tons of issues in Saudi Arabia” with regard to women’s rights and LGBTQ rights. “The Saudis are talking to a lot of people and a lot of different sports right now,” Simon said. “I think everybody’s evaluating what this means and: How do you move forward with that?” These sorts of deals have been pointed to as examples of “sportswashing” – efforts to rebrand a country’s troubling public image through what happens on fields of play.