WTA Finals next venue

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

WTA Finals next venue

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
Sounds like WTA will decide during us open. Riyadh seems favourite with Washington DC and Prague in the running among others. Presumably no British bids.

www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/aug/25/pegula-expresses-doubts-as-wta-considers-moving-finals-to-saudi-arabia
I'm surprised that the WTA would be prepared to contemplate going to Saudi, however many pots of money are on offer, given the Saudis' continuing systematic discrimination against women under the appalling male guardianship system, which makes them permanent legal minors in the eyes of the state. No amount of exposure to international competitive sport is going to change that, even assuming Saudi women were permitted unfettered access to the event.

The Next Gen ATP finals are being held in Jeddah this week & will be for four more years. In a lengthy article on the BBC News site, Russell Fuller considers the likelihood that the WTA Finals will eventually end up there. Tini ain't happy...

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

It seems that the Saudis ain't happy about Tini's & Chris Evert's opposition to the proposed staging of the WTA Finals in their country.

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
It seems that the Saudis ain't happy about Tini's & Chris Evert's opposition to the proposed staging of the WTA Finals in their country.

Tini?! i've never heard Martina called Tini before, is that a thing?!

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

JonH comes home wrote:
Stircrazy wrote:
It seems that the Saudis ain't happy about Tini's & Chris Evert's opposition to the proposed staging of the WTA Finals in their country.
Tini?! i've never heard Martina called Tini before, is that a thing?!

Once upon a time, someone (I have absolutely no recollection who), dubbed her "Tini Linguine" & I assume that it's a shortened form of that. I don't remember its being bandied about in her heyday, more when she was in the twilight of her career, but even that predates my engagement with any kind of message board & that's where such trivia tend to make their mark/catch on.