Ons Jabeur has said that she sees a WTA event held in Saudi Arabia as an opportunity to push for change in the country and to inspire other women.
Both the ATP and WTA have held discussions with Saudi Arabia about moving tournaments to the country, leading to the ATP announcing that their Next Gen Finals will be held in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah until 2027.
Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated reported that the WTA Finals, a tournament where the best players on the women's Tour play against each other, could be moved to Saudi Arabia's capital city Riyadh.
This news has sparked an outcry from several fans and players. Many of them accuse the country of 'sportswashing' in an attempt to improve its global image. Some things currently damaging Saudi Arabia's reputation include the fact that homosexual activity is illegal and punishable by death in the country and that a lot of women's rights are still restricted there.
However, two-time Wimbledon finalist Jabeur has said that she thinks hosting a WTA event in Saudi Arabia would be a positive step. Speaking at the US Open in New York, the Tunisian player stated that she is "pushing for a change."
"As an Arab player, I'd be very excited to be there," she said, "I am someone pushing for a change, pushing to give more and more opportunities especially for women."
"I know in Saudi they're changing things and they're evolving. I've been there last year to give a speech and interview there. It was very nice meeting a lot of amazing women there. For me, I was trying to push to have tennis in Saudi," the 28-year-old added.
Jabeur went on to say that the move to Saudi Arabia could help the rise of more Arab tennis players while also giving her a chance to speak more with the women there.
"I think it's a great step. I think it's something that could help the Arab world to have more tennis players, to get more involved in sports.
"If they play there, and hopefully if I qualify, it will be a great honour and opportunity for me to go and play there, especially meeting a lot of women. They told me they look up to me.
"That would be a great opportunity for me to meet them and speak to them," she said.
Ons Jabeur in favor of tennis working with Saudi Arabia: “If it benefits the player, I'm 100% there. I hope they'll not just invest with ATP but with WTA too. I went to Saudi last year & was impressed with the people. They’re giving women more rights. It’s time to change things”
