Is Ons Jabeur the person to lead the WTA to Riyadh?

FLASHBACK: Jabeur Credits "Good Karma" & Sincere Energy To Popularity

NEW YORK—“Thank you guys for cheering for me,” Ons Jabeur told the sizable crowd in Louis Armstrong Stadium after her 7-5, 7-6 (4) win over Camila Osorio here on Monday. “I always feel loved in New York.”

Jabeur needed all the love she could get in a first-round match that was in doubt until the final ball was hit. Over the weekend, she had sounded congested in her press conference—“American AC kills me,” she semi-joked. Whatever Jabeur had picked up, it got a lot worse when she went out to play on Tuesday.

By the middle of the first set, she was doubled over and gasping for air, which led to a doctor’s visit and a blood pressure check, as well as a lot of coughing. At Wimbledon, Jabeur had been unable to overcome a panic attack in the final. Was she going to be felled by a physical issue in her first match at the Open? She’s already a sentimental favorite among millions of tennis fans, including New York tennis fans, who were in their seats by 11:00 A.M. to see her play today. None of them wanted to see her suffer more Grand Slam misfortune.

This time, with some extra energy from the audience, Jabeur prevailed over herself and her opponent—barely. She seemed dead in the water late in the first set, but somehow managed to break and hold from 5-5. In the second set, she was broken twice while serving for the match, but she survived the tiebreaker, with a little bit—OK, a lot—of help from the erratic Osorio.

In her post-match interview, Jabeur showed off more of her sporting side, and probably increased her popularity again, when she said that she had “apologized [to Osorio] for bringing the doctor on the court.”

Jabeur, tennis’s most prominent emissary from the Arab world, has made herself into an important, pioneering, and universally liked athlete over the past three years. But one statement she made this weekend in New York won’t sit well with everyone, at least not in the West. Asked about reports that the season-ending WTA Finals might be staged in Riyadh in the near future, she said:

“As an Arab player, I’m very excited to be there. I’m someone pushing for a change, pushing to give more and more opportunities especially for women. I know in Saudi they're changing things and they’re evolving.”

“I think it’s a great step,” she continued. “I think it’s something that could help the Arab world to have more tennis players, to get more involved in sports.”

Not everyone has had the same reaction. Moving its signature event to Saudi Arabia will open the WTA up to accusations of sports-washing. The tour’s CEO, Steve Simon, has said in the past that playing in a country with a famously bad track record on women’s and LGBTQ rights would raise “big issues.” Chris Evert said she “would prefer the WTA not go to Saudi Arabia” in part because of “the way they treat women.” If, say, Daria Kasatkina qualifies, how would she and her girlfriend, Natalia Zabiiako, be welcomed?

Not long ago, the women’s tour was lauded for standing up to China when it pulled out of the country after Peng Shuai’s disappearance. Not seeing any further progress on the issue, though, Simon eventually brought the tour back to the country. It seems there was too much money being left on the table to continue a boycott that wasn’t having any noticeable effect.

I think it’s a great step. I think it’s something that could help the Arab world to have more tennis players, to get more involved in sports. —Ons Jabeur on the potential impact of having the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia

Moving the WTA Finals to Riyadh would obviously be about money as well.

“It’s unfortunate that a lot of women’s sports, like, we don’t have the luxury to say no to some things,” Jessica Pegula said when she was asked about the prospect of Riyadh. Billie Jean King herself launched a tour that was sponsored by the Virginia Slims cigarette brand.

Listening to Jabeur talk about her hopes for women’s tennis in Riyadh reminded me of one of King’s contemporaries: Arthur Ashe. In 1973, Ashe defied many in the Black community in the U.S. when he played the national tournament of apartheid South Africa. His goal was to show Blacks there what one of their own could do, that he could play with and beat any white man in the world (Ashe would make the final and lose to Jimmy Connors). Some have credited his trip with putting a crack in the government’s regime, one that continued to widen.

Nobody can expect the presence of the WTA Finals to lead to a rights revolution in Saudi Arabia. The ATP will also hold its Next Gen Finals in Jeddah from 2023 to 2028. In both cases, tennis would be involved at some level in sports-washing, just as golf is with the LIV Tour.

But perhaps Jabeur and the eight players who take part can make it about more than money alone. The WTA Finals are, after all, the biggest women’s-only event in tennis.

“It’s just going to have to be the right arrangement,” said Pegula, who suggested the Saudis could make a donation to women’s sports. “We’re going to have to know that if we go there, OK, we want to be making a change and you need to help us do that.”

Jabeur has already shown the world that an Arab woman can play tennis at the highest level. Maybe her skills, and her popularity, can make a difference in that world’s largest country.

“If they play there, and hopefully if I qualify, it will be a great honor and opportunity for me to go and play there, especially meeting a lot of women,” Jabeur said. “They told me they look up to me. That would be a great opportunity for me to meet them and speak to them.”

“Just do a lot of great things together.”