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John McEnroe has taken a shot at the US government as he spoke out against tennis moving into Saudi Arabia. The ATP announced that the Next Gen Finals would be staged in Jeddah on a five-year deal while there are rumours the WTA is fielding an offer to hold their year-end Finals in Riyadh. And Chris Evert joined McEnroe\u2019s calls to stop tournaments going to Saudi.<\/p>\n
Tennis is officially becoming part of Saudi Arabia\u2019s sporting takeover, following in the footsteps of football and golf. On Thursday, the ATP confirmed that the 21-and-under Next Gen Finals would be moving to Jeddah until 2028.<\/p>\n
Sports Illustrated has also reported that the WTA Finals could move to Riyadh, meaning the top eight players of the year would be competing for the season-ending crown in Saudi Arabia. And McEnroe has officially had his say, noting that sports shouldn\u2019t be criticised for moving to the nation when the US government had dealings with Saudi.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something that\u2019s being bandied about obviously since golf did this,\u201d the seven-time Major winner said at an ESPN event. \u201cBut a lot of the people \u2026 are hypocrites that sit around and say that golf or tennis shouldn\u2019t go there while tons of businesses and tons of these people that you know about – including our government and many, many others – go there and do business, but all of a sudden it\u2019s outrageous that sports athletes do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Just in <\/strong> Iga Swiatek told to skip US Open as Martina Navratilova comes down hard on No 1[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n While the former world No 1 didn\u2019t agree with any criticism that athletes would face if they chose to compete in Saudi Arabia, McEnroe still thought that the tennis tours didn\u2019t need to stage events in the nation. He continued: \u201cHaving said that, I wouldn\u2019t do it. I don\u2019t think our sport needs it. I don\u2019t think it would benefit from it, and I don\u2019t think we should do it, personally.\u201d<\/p>\n The American also echoed the words of Evert, who said she wouldn\u2019t play in Saudi Arabia but acknowledged that it wasn\u2019t their decision. McEnroe added: \u201cBut as [Evert] said, it\u2019s not up to us. Someone else is going to make that [decision]. They\u2019re talking about the Next Gen Finals going there, 21 and under. This is just something that I don\u2019t understand why we\u2019re going in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> While the ATP\u2019s move into Saudi Arabia currently only affects the top eight players aged 21-and-under, the WTA could send its top stars to the nation. According to recent reports, Riyadh is among the potential host cities bidding to stage the season-ending championships alongside Prague and DC.\u00a0<\/p>\n And Evert was firm in her stance that the WTA shouldn\u2019t hold a tournament in Saudi. \u201cI mean, for me, I would prefer not to go to Saudi Arabia to play the WTA Finals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot that I\u2019m going to go play, but for me, I would prefer the WTA not go to Saudi Arabia. Obviously they have the human rights issues and everything, just the way they treat women. I would be against it. But I don\u2019t have a vote.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/4927866.jpg?r=1692975145864\")
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