At the beginning of November, the eight best players in the world will compete in Riyadh, where this year's WTA Finals are held. Women's tennis authorities have decided that the season-ending tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia.
The WTA Finals started on Saturday (November 2), and in the first matches Aryna Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini were victorious. On Sunday, Iga Świątek joined the game. Her first rival was the Czech Barbora Krejcikova.
The WTA authorities argued that choosing Riyadh as the host of the WTA Finals was the best possible decision. However, the first match of Świątek showed that the most important thing was missing: fans.
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The stands in the hall in Riyadh were empty. The hall can accommodate approximately 4,000 spectators. As Canal+ commentator Bartosz Ignacik noted, the facility was approximately 10 percent full. – There are simply no viewers here – said Ignacik. – I didn't think it would be so bad – added Joanna Sakowicz-Kostecka, who commented with him.
It was a depressing picture, because eight of the best players in the world compete in Saudi Arabia. This in itself guarantees great emotions. A photo of the empty hall can be seen below.
The organizers attributed the poor turnout to the fact that it was a working day in Saudi Arabia and the fact that “exam week” had begun in the country.
Unfortunately, this is an increasingly common sight at women's matches. Women's tennis is becoming less and less popular, which can be seen, for example, at Grand Slam tournaments. There, men's matches are played to full stands, and there are many empty seats for women's matches.
Let us add that for the Pole it was a return to the game after almost two months of break. Świątek last competed in the US Open in September. Since then, she has withdrawn from subsequent tournaments. There was also a change of coach.
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