The WTA Finals, scheduled to be held at King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyadh from November 2-9, is a “great opportunity” to promote tennis and encourage more women in Saudi Arabia to take to the sport, Tournament Director and former tennis player Garbine Muguruza told Al Arabiya English in an exclusive interview.

“Riyadh is great [for the WTA Finals] because it is a market that is not too familiar with tennis. So, it is a wonderful opportunity to bring this event here for the community. It will feel like it is not something unreachable,” Muguruza said.

The season-ending crown jewel event on the Hologic WTA Tour features the top eight singles players and doubles teams, contesting for a record prize pool of $15.25 million.

“This is the crown jewel of WTA, the most prestigious event. There are only eight players and it’s so hard to qualify. It takes the whole year and it’s the first time that Riyadh will be hosting an event of this magnitude,” Muguruza further said.

“Sports helps so much to unite cultures. I’m thrilled that there is a women’s event here of such a magnitude, and it is going to break the ice on the new [tennis] market here,” the former player said.

Growth of the sport

The WTA Finals Riyadh is a major element of the STF’s plans to increase participation in tennis across Saudi Arabia and fulfills one of the WTA’s goals of growing the game worldwide and inspiring a new generation of girls to take to the court.

According to Muguruza, WTA, and STF have a shared goal of inspiring more than one million new tennis players to take up the sport in Saudi Arabia through this upcoming tournament.

Garbine Muguruza, the former world No 1, Wimbledon and French Open champion, announced her retirement at a news conference on Saturday; Muguruza has not played since announcing a hiatus from tennis in early 2024

Former world No 1 Garbine Muguruza has announced her retirement from professional tennis at the age of 30.

The 30-year-old Spaniard won the French Open in 2016 before lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish on Centre Court the following summer but she had not played a competitive match since January 2024.

At a press conference where she was announced as a Laureus Ambassador, Muguruza said: “If 25 years ago, when I started hitting my first tennis balls, someone had told me that I would become a professional tennis player, that I would fulfil my dream of winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon, that I would become No 1 in the world and win the WTA Finals, I would have thought this person was crazy.

Comment: The former world No 1 retired last week, but was subjected to questions about her weight at the Laureus Awards in Madrid, Molly McElwee examines Spain’s ongoing issue surrounding sexism in sport

ormer world No 1 Garbine Muguruza is Spain’s best female tennis player of the last decade. So when she retired earlier this month, aged just 30, she faced all the queries you might expect: why now? What will you miss about tennis? What will you do next?

One question though, she was not anticipating. On the red carpet, at the Laureus Awards in Madrid last week, Muguruza faced a throng of journalists and one piped up: “[People] were saying they can tell you’ve stopped training, especially on social media, people were attacking you harshly because of the shape you are in…”

Muguruza’s eyes widened momentarily, as she was clearly taken aback. Then, she laughed. What else was she meant to do with that kind of question, four microphones and as many cameras thrust in her face?