Coco Gauff’s Riyadh run crystallized her status as an American role model

SOver the past thirty years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has slowly—and rapidly—sought to expand its economic strength by not relying solely on its petroleum resources, but also by struggling to convince the world that it was embarking on a less repressive regime. be be. empire across the broad spectrum of professional sports; F1 racing, football, basketball, WWE and, most infamously, golf with the LIV tour. And now professional tennis is the latest sport to be tempted by the huge amounts of money the Kingdom has to offer, with the WTA Finals having just concluded in Riyadh.

In 2023, as the Kingdom intensively lobbied the WTA to host the tennis tour’s year-end finals in Riyadh, a rift emerged between the sport’s old guard, with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on one side and Billie Jean King on the other. other side. . In late 2023, just before the WTA confirmed that Riyadh would indeed host the 2024 WTA Finals, Evert and Navratilova sent a letter to the WTA outlining their deeply felt concerns:

In light of the WTA Finals potentially being moved to Saudi Arabia, we feel it is essential to speak out now and highlight why we are so concerned. The WTA Finals are the crown jewel of our tour and we cannot sit back and let something as important as this happen without an open, honest and transparent discussion. We fully appreciate the importance of respecting diverse cultures and religions. It is for this reason, and not in spite of it, that we believe that allowing Saudi Arabia to host the WTA Finals is completely incompatible with the spirit and purpose of women’s tennis, and with the WTA itself.

The WTA is based on fairness and equality to empower women in a male-dominated world. In short, the WTA should represent values ​​in stark contrast to those of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Not only is this a country where women are not seen as equal, it is also a country that criminalizes the LGBTQ community.

A country whose long-term record on human rights and fundamental freedoms has been a matter of international concern for decades. Bringing the WTA Finals to Saudi Arabia would be a significant step backwards, at the expense of the WTA, women’s sport and women. We ask the WTA to consider all these considerations.

Almost a year after writing the letter, Navratilova did not change her mind. “We lost our moral high ground when the women decided to go there,” Navratilova was quoted in the New York Times in October. “You have to show me some progress first. Women must be equal citizens before the law. Otherwise we might as well play in North Korea.”

For her part, in the run-up to the WTA decision, King took the position that dialogue and engagement were the only ways to initiate action and progress. In an interview with the National, King said: “How are we going to change things if we don’t get involved? It’s hard, it’s very hard. So when we go to a country and play a tournament, just think, if you’re a little girl or a parent, they see these women as very successful and great athletes, and it helps change the hearts and minds of the people . people and how they think.”

Of course, no one can discredit King’s bona fide when it comes to her legendary involvement in social activism (perhaps the only blemish being that she served on the board of Phillip Morris for a number of years, as a reward for Virgina Slims sponsoring the women’s tour ). ). Her attitude towards Saudi Arabia is somewhat similar to that of Arthur Ashe when he went to South Africa fifty years ago. In 1973, much to the dismay of many black activists here in the United States, Ashe decided to travel to Johannesburg and play in the South African Open, even though black spectators would have to sit in a separate room away from the court. . From Ashe’s perspective, seeing a free black man compete at the highest level of a very white sport would give hope to those living in an apartheid state.

Whatever you think about the WTA’s involvement in the Kingdom, the issue has highlighted an undeniable aspect of women’s tennis: the continued, decades-long commitment of players – mostly American – to highlighting critical issues, especially when it comes to for human rights. From Ashe and Billie Jean to Martina and the Williams sisters, these American athletes have shown a willingness to express a social consciousness, whether through word or action. For a sport long – and wrongly – considered ‘elite’, tennis has been at the forefront of social change, perhaps more than any other sport.

Coco Gauff continues this tradition of American female players expressing themselves on the world stage. The American superstar, and 2023 US Open champion, is only 20 years old, but she has shown a wisdom and thoughtfulness that belies her youth. And this was especially evident during her brilliant run to the title at the WTA Finals in Riyadh last week.

Gauff’s mixed feelings about playing in Saudi Arabia proved there was an effective middle ground, as she effectively threaded the needle in navigating how to best handle the situation.

“It’s clear that I’m a woman. I was very worried. My dad was very concerned about me coming here,” Gauff said before the tournament. “I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t have reservations. Of course you know who I am and what I am talking about. I was at pretty much every player call I could make with WTA. One of the things I said, if we come here, we can’t just come here and play our tournament and then leave. For example, we need to have a real program or a real plan.”

And true to her word, Gauff made sure to communicate directly with women in Saudi Arabia. “We have spoken to many women here in Saudi Arabia. One of them was Princess Reema. Multiple phone calls with her about what the best approach would be to go into this other place where women have never been, women from the US, where they have never been. I think it was important to me, and it was one of the questions that I brought up about LGBTQ issues, women’s rights issues, how we can help with that.”

Finally, Gauff came full circle, incorporating her own family history of dealing with prejudice. Gauff said, “I don’t think people will like it knowing my grandmother’s past and integrating her school, but in the long run, of course, people won’t like it. I think it could be better for everyone,” Gauff said.

Most tellingly, Gauff told reporters that her decision to play Riyadh in the future (the city has a contract to host the finals again in 2025 and 2026) is not unconditional. She said, “If I felt uncomfortable or it felt like nothing was happening, then… I probably wouldn’t come back.”

Oh yeah, lest we forget the reason why Gauff was in Riyadh, she also managed to win the year-end tour title, beating the two best players in the world (Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka) in straight sets along the way and came back in. the final against Qinwen Zheng to secure the championship and take home the biggest payday ever in women’s tennis.

This caps off an extremely torrid stretch of play for Gauff during the fall swing. After her disappointing fourth-round defeat to compatriot Emma Navarro at the US Open and parting ways with coach Brad Gilbert, no one could have predicted that Gauff would embark on a dominant six-week run in which she won the Tour-level 1000 event in Beijing won. reached the semi-finals in Wuhan and then her victory in Riyadh.

With new coach Matt Daly, Gauff has clearly made changes to her game, especially in terms of serving. Although she has been somewhat coy about these changes, it is clear that her serving grip has changed and her forehand ends higher over the shoulders, in a somewhat Nadal-esque manner.

I asked Daly about those changes and he simply replied, “Credit to Coco for being willing to work on her game while playing tournaments.” When a player of Gauff’s caliber makes swing or grip changes in the middle of competition, it’s further evidence of her preternatural competitive focus and dedication.

Looking ahead to 2025, her new serving skill will no doubt be a boon to her chances at Wimbledon on the slippery grass, where she has never made it past the round of 16.

The open tennis era is littered with young prodigies who blossom too soon after so much promise, whether due to muscle fatigue or overbearing family members or simply succumbing to the unfair and overwhelming pressure that the spotlight brings at such a young age.

Gauff appears to have found the antidote to these cautionary tales by staying grounded and achieving balance in her life, combining her extraordinary athleticism on the field with staying true to her soul off the field with her thoughtful commentary. Whether she wants to be known as such or not, Gauff is indeed an American role model.