Daria Kasatkina, who has previously expressed concerns about competing in Saudi Arabia as a gay tennis player, will compete in the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Thursday.
Kasatkina, ranked ninth in the world, is participating in this event as an alternate and will replace American Jessica Pegula, who withdrew from her last match in the quarter-finals against Iga Swiatek due to a left knee injury. Pegula, a US Open finalist this year, has already been eliminated from the tournament after losing her first two group stage matches to Barbora Krejcikova and Coco Gauff respectively.
At a press conference at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, Kasatkina said there were “many issues regarding this country” in relation to Saudi Arabia. “It’s easier for men because they feel comfortable there, for example. We don’t feel the same way,” she added.
Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia, and the WTA has hosted events in countries such as Qatar and Dubai, where homosexuality is also illegal, for more than 20 years.
After the WTA and Saudi Tennis Federation announced their three-year agreement, Kasatkina told BBC Sport in April that she “got guarantees that I would be fine.”
“As long as it gives the opportunity for people out there, young kids and women to actually see the sport — so they can watch it, they can play it, they can participate in this, I think it’s great.”
Kasatkina’s view aligns with LGBTQ+ and tennis icon Billie Jean King, who was influential in establishing the WTA Tour. She was an advocate of holding the finals in Riyadh despite the country’s human rights record regarding women and the criminalization of homosexuality.
“I’m a big believer in participating, I don’t think you change unless you participate,” King said at the WTA anniversary event in 2023.
However, Martina Navratilova told The Athletic earlier this year that “bigger changes have to happen first before we go there.” I can’t go out there and announce that I’m gay. People say, well, just act. But what does that mean?
Kasatkina will face Swiatek as the latter seeks to advance to the semi-finals, where she needs to beat the Russian and Gauff to defeat Krejcikova. Pegula, who said in a press conference on Wednesday that she was “suffering somewhat from the injury” that broke out in Riyadh, has withdrawn from the Billie Jean King Cup finals, which begin on November 13.
