Welcome to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the story behind the stories from the last week on court.
This week, the coveted Masters 1000 in Madrid ran its first week and the stories on court were matched by the drama off it, as the Grand Slams and tennis tours continue their beauty pageant for the future of the sport.
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Can ‘assurances’ on player safety in Saudi Arabia ever be enough?
Daria Kasatkina, the highest ranked openly gay player in women’s tennis, was asked Sunday how she felt about the WTA opting to hold its Tour Finals for the next three years in Saudi Arabia, a country, where homosexuality is a crime that can be punished by death.
Only the top eight players qualify for the Tour Finals. Kasatkina is currently world No 11.
“Look, if I qualify, it means that I’m top eight in the world,” Kasatkina said after advancing to the round of 16 in Madrid. “It’s great news for me.”
Kasatkina has been one of the most prominent voices on Saudi Arabia’s incursion into the sport (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Then she took a deep breath. “We see that the Saudis, now they are very into the sport. They want to develop the sport, and as long as it gives the opportunity to the…
