Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.
This week, the first Riyadh edition of the WTA Tour Finals concluded in Saudi Arabia, with Coco Gauff defeating Zheng Qinwen in the final.
Throughout the week, the players and WTA chief executive Portia Archer have emphasized that they felt welcome and looked after in a country that criminalizes same-sex relationships and has been criticized for its human rights record, particularly regarding women. “We have never had any issues with freedom of expression,” Archer said in a news conference ahead of the tournament.
Charlie Eccleshare’s special report from Riyadh looks at the idea of tennis — and sport at large — having the power to effect change, and how conversant that idea is with the reality in the country:
GO DEEPER
‘The same people who allow women to play tennis are also torturing the activists’
Elsewhere, Barbora Krejcikova criticized what she called “unprofessional” commentary of the event, Danielle Collins and Daria Kasatkina experienced life as an alternate, a doubles partnership fell at the last and Daniil Medvedev spiralled in Turin.
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