Jessica
Pegula expressed her opinion that a partnership between the WTA and Saudi
Arabia could help with equal prize money.
The world
No. 4 is ready to face her compatriot Lauren Davis in the first round of the
2023
Wimbledon. Pegula comes in as the 4th seed, which allows her to avoid
higher-ranked players in the early rounds. She aims to surpass her best
Wimbledon performance from 2022, where she reached the third round but was
defeated by Petra Martic in straight sets.
Recently,
there has been widespread discussion about a potential agreement between the
WTA and Saudi Arabia to host tournaments in the country. Saudi Arabia plans to
make a significant investment in tennis, similar to what they have done with
Formula One, the LIV Golf circuit, and their football clubs.
While WTA
CEO Steve Simon stated that nothing is certain yet, the potential offer from
Saudi Arabia could contribute to improving the prize money in the WTA, and
Pegula expressed support for this possible agreement.
"If
they (Saudi Arabia) could help getting us to equal prize money, though there
are negatives, there's a lot of positives that can come out of it," Pegula
added.
"Hopefully
we don't just look at the negatives and we can see the positives. Hopefully
something good comes out of it the right way.
The
potential agreement would also involve the ATP, although not all players have
shown their agreement. Players like Carlos Alcaraz and Nick Kyrgios have
already expressed their support and willingness to play tournaments in Saudi
Arabia. However, John McEnroe stated that tennis should not seek investments in
that country, and Andy Murray mentioned that he would have to seriously
consider playing tournaments there, as he has previously declined to
participate in exhibitions.
The dilemma
arises from the challenging human rights situation in the Arab country,
particularly concerning gender equality and the rights of the LGBT community
"It's
tough because… there's obviously issues there. I also think there's issues in a
lot of countries. Sometimes things don't get talked about as well," Pegula
said.
“I trust
Steve to make the right decision on what he feels is best for the WTA."