Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek’s Stardom Fails to Bring in Crowds in Riyadh, WTA’s Reply Comes Under Scanner

The WTA’s decision to hold the year-end finals in Saudi Arabia is turning out to be a flop. Day 1 of the tournament at Riyadh’s King Saud University court attracted a fair bit of fans. The attendance slid embarrassingly low on Day 2 despite superstars Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff featuring on the court. What’s more baffling is that the organizers claimed they “anticipated” such a poor footfall.

Many Chinese supporters turned up for the Qinwen Zheng-Aryna Sabalenka match on Saturday, the opening day. The arena’s energy seemed electric, raising hopes for an exciting six days of action.

The vibe was the polar opposite on Sunday, a working day in Saudi Arabia. Merely a few hundred spectators were seen across the 5000-capacity arena. Gauff, Swiatek, and their opponents who took center stage that day, spoke about the dull atmosphere.

This prompted the organizers to issue a statement in reply.

“It’s important to remember that this is the first time a WTA event has been held in Saudi Arabia, so we’re bringing tennis to a new audience and that takes time to build,” the WTA said, adding that it was prepared for a low turnout when trying to promote the sport in an untapped market.

“We always anticipated lower attendance with the start of the Saudi working week on Sunday but anticipate that numbers will build as we approach the weekend,” it added.

WTA’s statement leaves social media users livid

Immediately after the WTA issued their statement, the fans lashed out. They were wondering why the prestigious year-end tournament was scheduled in Riyadh if a low turnout was foreseen.

Hopefully, as the organizers have predicted, a larger audience will arrive in the coming days. If not, it will be extremely demotivating for players to perform in empty stands, reminiscent of the atmosphere during the COVID era.