Not every day you see a specific city or a tournament pulling off a feat but Riyadh did exactly that by hosting the WTA Finals for the second year in a row.
Between 2014 and 2018, Singapore hosted five consecutive WTA Finals editions. Then came a turbulent period for the season-ending tournament, which was slated to be hosted in Shenzhen between 2019 and 2028. After only one tournament edition in Shenzhen in 2019, the pandemic struck and the season-ending tournament was canceled in 2020. Due to the pandemic and inability to host tournaments in Asia, the WTA had to move on from Shenzhen as the host city.
That led to three different cities hosting the top-eight tournament across the next three years - Guadalajara (2021), Fort Worth (2022) and Cancun (2023).
ADVERTISEMENT
After years of switching host cities, the WTA found a long-term solution in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh was named as the host city for the WTA Finals between 2024 and 2026. Now, the Saudi city is the first city since Singapore to host back-to-back editions of the season-ending tournament.
Whatthe WTA said about going to Riyadh?
Bringing the WTA Finals to Riyadh is an exciting new opportunity for us and a positive step for the long-term growth of womens tennis as a global and inclusive sport. Weve been impressed by the commitment shown by the Saudi Tennis Federation to grow the sport at all levels, and we have no doubt that players and fans can look forward to a world-class event in Riyadh as the finale to the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons," Steve Simon, who was the WTA CEO and Chairman at the time, said in a statement.
ADVERTISEMENT
Coco Gauff won the inaugural edition of the WTA Finals in Riyadh last year.
This year, the eight players who came to the Saudi city for the season-ending tournament are Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini and Madison Keys. If Gauff wins the tournament, she will become the first player since Serena Williams in 2014 to win back-to-back titles.
