Tennis fans have criticized Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Ons Jabeur, and Aryna Sabalenka for confirming their participation in a post-Christmas day exhibition match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has been getting increasingly involved in tennis over the last couple of years. This season, it was confirmed that the Next Gen ATP Finals would be hosted in the country's port city of Jeddah until 2027, while Riyadh was in contention to host the WTA Finals before Cancun, Mexico was chosen instead.

As a result, many fans have raised concerns about sportswashing, which is Saudi Arabia's use of sporting events to cover up its poor human rights record. This includes severe restrictions on women, the fact that homosexual activity is illegal in the country, and the poor treatment of migrants.

The exhibition event has been scheduled for December 26-27 and has been organized by the country's General Entertainment Authority. Jabeur will play against Sabalenka on the first day before Djokovic and Alcaraz battle it out on the second.

Some of the players had voiced their approval of tournaments in Saudi Arabia prior to this, with Alcaraz saying he had "no doubts" that he would play there in the future, while Jabeur expressed her hopes that playing there would bring about positive change in the country.

However, many fans have reacted negatively to the news, accusing the four tennis stars of choosing money over morals and contributing to sportswashing.

"Money money money money. Money can buy souls, this proves it," wrote one.

"But the tennis season is too long they all say. I wonder why they're playing this event?" added another, sarcastically.

"Tell me you're money hungry without telling me you're money hungry?" commented a third.

"Women in Saudi Arabia are not even allowed to go and watch tennis without a male guardian, but yeah go play for the money," another wrote.