Ruud declines Saudi's tennis invitation: a stand or a decision?

Norway’s tennis star Casper Ruud has revealed that he rejected an offer to play in Saudi Arabia. The 25-year-old is often regarded as one of the most talented players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category. In the recent past, there has been a lot of noise regarding Saudi Arabia's interest in investing in tennis. The cash-rich Middle Eastern country has been investing heavily in sports in the recent past.

Those rumours are becoming a reality with the WTA Finals event set to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2024. To go with that, there is a men’s Six Kings Slam going on in the country as well, which features some of the biggest names in men’s tennis, including the likes of world number one Italy’s Jannik Sinner, Spain’s young tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz, Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic and 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal.

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Despite the growing interest and involvement of Saudi Arabia in tennis, there have been voices against their involvement as well. Many believe that the Middle Eastern country is investing so heavily in the sport that it uses it to hide its human rights record. Ruud has become another high-profile person who has raised concerns about Saudi Arabia’s investment in tennis. World number eight also revealed that he had rejected the offer to play in the country.

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“I didn’t get an offer from the Six Kings Slam, but I have had offers in the past, and I have chosen not to go,” he said while speaking to SpilXperten as quoted by Tennis 365. “It is obviously a controversial country in terms of many things, but there are other countries that are controversial as well that we go to and play in. You can definitely discuss China and human rights in China, but we go there every year. There was a lot of talk about Peng Shuai and what happened to her, and it’s just to say that if you want to put Saudi Arabia as a controversial country, there should be other countries as well that should be mentioned and we don’t mention those.”