The WTA’s decision to organize the year-end finals in Saudi Arabia is turning out to be a failed experiment. Day 1 of the tournament in Riyadh was fairly populated with fans filling the King Saud University’s stands. But Day 2 witnessed an embarrassing turnout despite superstars of the stature of Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff setting foot on the court. As baffling as it sounds, the organizers claimed to have “anticipated” such a disappointing footfall.
Multiple Chinese supporters filled the arena during the Qinwen Zheng-Aryna Sabalenka match on Saturday. The arena’s energy seemed electric and set the tone for what many believed would be an exciting six days to come.
The vibe was completely different on Sunday, a working day in Saudi Arabia. Merely a few hundred spectators were scattered across the 5000-capacity arena despite the likes of Grand Slam winners such as Gauff and Swiatek taking center stage. Both players and even their opponents acknowledged the dull atmosphere.
These comments from the players encouraged the organizers to issue a statement.
“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.
The WTA 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,” the statement added.
WTA’s statement leaves social media users livid
Immediately after the WTA issued their statement on the subject, fans lashed out at the organization. They were confused as to why the prestigious year-end tournament was scheduled in Riyadh if a low turnout was foreseen.
This should be full …it’s the finals … Tennis really needs to do better !
— Ricardo Braun (@RicardoBraun24) November 4, 2024
Such a beautiful sport being so humiliated
— Anna Ostrowska-Wilk (@wilkostroska) November 4, 2024
You don’t go to Saudi for fans …you go there to grab cash. We know this.
— Just KJ (@Kj_Allivart) November 5, 2024
Hopefully, as the organizers predicted, a larger audience will begin to arrive as the week proceeds. If not, it will be extremely demotivating for players to perform in a COVID-like environment as they did a few years ago.
