Chris Evert asks players to take "close and serious look" at treatment of women in Saudi Arabia before deciding to play in the country
Chris Evert has called on players to take a close look at the culture, laws and the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia before taking a decision to play in the country.
Evert's statement comes against the backdrop of ongoing criticism that follows reports that Saudi Arabia may host both ATP and WTA events in future including the year-end WTA finals.
"The players need to take a very close and serious look at the culture, the laws, and the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia before they make an educated and moral decision on whether to play over there," Evert said on X (formerly Twitter).
Chris Evert's one-time rival and close friend Martina Navratilova had ealier voiced her displeasure against the Middle East nation being chosen to organise professional tennis events in light of it's stringent laws with regard to women's rights and gay women.
Navratilova said it was risky and dangerous for gay women to play in Saudi Arabia while adding that it amounted to selling one's soul for financial convenience.
"I absolutely would worry. I would worry for them as women. I would worry for them as gay women. People live in fear that live there. It’s just too risky & still too dangerous. You sell your soul for money because it’s convenient, financially," she told BBC Sport.
Saudi Arabia recently hosted the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah while the WTA were involved in talks to host the WTA Finals in the country, which fell through leading to the event being shifted to Cancun, Mexico.
"I was portrayed as the evil one" - What Martina Navratilova had to say on her one-time rivalry with Chris Evert
Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert played each other 80 times during the course of an intense and illustrious rivalry.
The duo faced each other a total of 60 times in title rounds alone while dominating the women's tour before the rivalry transformed into a lasting friendship.
In a recent interview, Navratilova revealed that she was portrayed as the "evil one" in a "good versus evil" battle on account of her Slavic roots.
The Prague-born player moved from communist Czechoslovakia to the United States and became a US citizen in 1981.
"So most of the rivalry, I was out, and that didn't help overall. I think part of it was phobia, Slavic phobia, I think that's still alive. And yes, it was good versus evil. I was portrayed as the evil one. So that, that kind of stuff is, that was hard," Navratilova stated on the 'On With Kara Swisher' podcast.
Martina Navratilova led 43-37 in the overall head-to-head numbers against Chris Evert. In outdoor matches, Navratilova held the edge on grass at 10-5 and on hard courts at 10-7, while Evert held sway on clay winning 11 of their 14 matches.