Paris closes out the 2024 Olympics with a final star-studded show

Paris closes out the 2024 Olympics with a final star-studded show
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In this combo image, Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise is lowered on the Stade de France, ride a motorbike and carries the Olympic flag during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Saint-Denis, France, on Aug. 11, 202. (AP photos)
Paris closes out the 2024 Olympics with a final star-studded show
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Participants gather during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, on Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP)
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Updated 12 August 2024
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Paris closes out the 2024 Olympics with a final star-studded show

Paris closes out the 2024 Olympics with a final star-studded show
  • Tom Cruise stunt caps handing of Olympic flag to Los Angeles; Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish perform in LA sequence
  • Paris breathe new life into an Olympic brand hurt by the difficulties of Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Games and the soulless spirit of Tokyo’s COVID-hit event

SAINT-DENIS, France: Setting out to prove that topping Paris isn’t mission impossible, Los Angeles rolled out a skydiving Tom Cruise, Grammy winner Billie Eilish and other stars on Sunday as it took over Olympic hosting duties for 2028 from the French capital, which closed out its 2024 Games just as they started — with joy and panache.
Paris was bringing down the curtain on an Olympic Games that brought dazzling sport to heart of the capital, breathing new life into an Olympic brand hurt by the difficulties of Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Games and the soulless spirit of Tokyo’s COVID-hit event.
Even Parisians were carried away by the Olympic fervor.
“We wanted to dream. We got Leon Marchand,” Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet told the crowd, referring to the French swimmer who won four golds in the swimming.
“From one day to the next Paris became a party and France found itself. From a country of grumblers, we became a country of frenzied fans.”

Following in Paris’ footsteps promises to be a challenge: It made spectacular use of its cityscape for its first Games in 100 years, with the Eiffel Tower and other iconic monuments becoming Olympic stars in their own right as they served as backdrops and venues for medal-winning feats.

But the City of Angeles showed that it, too, has aces up its sleeves, like the City of Light.
Cruise — in his Ethan Hunt persona — wowed by descending from the top of the stadium to electric guitar “Mission Impossible” riffs. Once his feet were back on the ground — and after shaking hands with enthralled athletes — he took the Olympic flag from star gymnast Simone Biles, fixed it to the back of a motorcycle and roared out of the arena.

 

The appetite-whetting message was clear: Los Angeles 2028 promises to be an eye-opener, too.
Still, this was largely Paris’ night — its opportunity for one final party. And what a party it was.

The closing ceremony capped two and a half extraordinary weeks of Olympic sports and emotion with a boisterous, star-studded show in France’s national stadium, mixing unbridled celebration with a somber call for peace from IOC President Thomas Bach.

“These were sensational Olympic Games from start to finish,” Bach said.
Having announced his intention to leave office next year, Bach also struck a more somber note as he appealed for ”a culture of peace” in a war-torn world.
“We know that the Olympic Games cannot create peace, but the Olympic Games can create a culture of peace that inspires the world,” he said. “Let us live this culture of peace every single day.”
Then came another change of gear, courtesy of Cruise.
In a prerecorded segment after being lowered on a rope live from the roof’s giddy heights, Cruise drove his bike past the Eiffel Tower, onto a plane and then skydived over the Hollywood Hills. Three circles were added to the O’s of the famed Hollywood sign to create five interlaced Olympic rings.
The thousands of athletes who danced and sang the night away cheered it — and the artistic show that celebrated Olympic themes, complete with firework flourishes.
Their enthusiasm bubbled over when crowds of them rushed the stage at one point. Stadium announcements in French and English urged them to double back. Some stayed, creating an impromptu mosh pit around Grammy-winning French pop-rock band Phoenix as they played, before security and volunteers cleared the stage.
Multiple time zones away, Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, rapper Snoop Dogg — wearing pants with the Olympic rings after being a popular mainstay at the Paris Games — along with his longtime collaborator Dr. Dre kept the party going with performances on Los Angeles’ Venice Beach.
Each is a California native, including H.E.R., who sang the US national anthem live at the Stade de France, crammed with more than 70,000 people.




French swimmer Leon Marchand carries a lantern containing the Olympic flame with IOC President Thomas Bach, left, at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP)

At the start of the show, the stadium crowd roared as French swimmer Léon Marchand, dressed in a suit and tie instead of the swim trunks he wore to win four golds, was shown on the giant screens collecting the Olympic flame from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.
To spectators’ loud chants of “Léon, Léon,” Marchand then reappeared at the end of the show, blowing out the flame. Paris Games were over.
But they’ll be back.
“I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Los Angeles,” Bach declared.

205 countries, 9,000 athletes

As a delicate pink sunset gave way to night, athletes first marched into the stadium waving the flags of their 205 countries and territories — a display of global unity in a world gripped by global tensions and conflicts, including those in Ukraine and Gaza. The stadium screens carried the words, “Together, united for peace.”
With the 329 medal events finished, the expected 9,000 athletes — many wearing their shiny medals — and team staffers filled the arena, dancing and cheering to thumping beats.

Unlike in Tokyo in 2021, where the Games were pushed back a year by the COVID-19 pandemic and largely stripped of fans, athletes and the more than 70,000 spectators at the Paris arena celebrated with abandon, singing together as Queen’s anthem “We Are the Champions” blared. Multiple French athletes crowd-surfed. US team members jumped up and down in their Ralph Lauren jackets.
The national stadium, France’s largest, was one of the targets of Daesh gunmen and suicide bombers who killed 130 people in and around Paris on Nov. 13, 2015. The joy and celebrations that swept Paris during the Games as Marchand and other French athletes racked up 64 medals — 16 of them gold — marked a major watershed in the city’s recovery from that night of terror.
The closing ceremony saw the awarding of the last medals — each embedded with a chunk of the Eiffel Tower. Fittingly for the first Olympics that aimed for gender parity, they all went to women — the gold, silver and bronze medalists from the women’s marathon earlier Sunday.
The women’s marathon took the spot of the men’s race that traditionally closed out previous Games. The switch was part of efforts in Paris to make the Olympic spotlight shine more brightly on the sporting feats of women. Paris was also where women first made their Olympic debut, at the Games of 1900.

The US team again topped the medal table, with 126 in all and 40 of them gold. Three were courtesy of gymnast Simone Biles, who made a resounding return to the top of the Olympic podium after prioritizing her mental health instead of competition in Tokyo in 2021.
Unlike Paris’ rain-drenched but exuberant opening ceremony that played out along the Seine River in the heart of city, the closing ceremony’s artistic portion took a more sober approach, with space-age and Olympic themes.
A golden-shrouded figure dropped spider-like from the skies into a darkened world of smoke and swirling stars. Olympic symbols were celebrated, including the flag of Greece, birthplace of the ancient Games, and the five interlaced Olympic rings, lit up in white in the arena where tens of thousands of lights glittered like fireflies.

‘Culture of peace’
The two weeks of sporting drama saw China and the United States duke it out for top spot in the medal table right down to the last event.
Echoing the heartache delivered to France by the United States in the men’s basketball final, the American women’s basketball side handed France a gut-wrenching one-point defeat to earn a 40th gold medal and top spot on the medal table.




French President Emmanuel Macron, top, third right, and IOC President Thomas Bach greet during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, on Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP)

As the world emerged from the COVID pandemic in 2022, Paris had promised an Olympic “light at the end of the tunnel” and to provide the stage for a carefree Games as they returned to Europe for the first time in over a decade.
But Russia’s war in Ukraine on Europe’s eastern flank, the threat of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza erupting into a wider conflict in the Middle East, and France’s heightened state of security alert loomed large as the Games got under way.
International Committee President Thomas Bach saluted the athletes as he declared the Games closed.
“During all this time, you lived peacefully together under one roof in the Olympic Village. You embraced each other,” Bach said. “You respected each other, even if your countries are divided by war and conflict. You created a culture of peace.”

High bar for LA
The French had a new golden boy to celebrate with swimmer Marchand emerging as the king of the pool, before French judoka Teddy Riner reigned supreme as he claimed his fifth Olympic gold medal.
Simone Biles put her twisties misery of Tokyo behind her, making a long-awaited Olympic return in front of a star-studded crowd. She arrived the world’s most decorated gymnast and left with a further three gold medals for her trophy cabinet.
Breaking made its Olympic debut — to some derision on social media — whilst 3x3 basketball, sports climbing, skateboarding and surfing made their second appearances.
The IOC will be relieved that no major scandals erupted, although it did have to grapple with some controversies.
A simmering doping row involving Chinese athletes hung over the Olympic swimming meet where the United States faced the biggest challenge to their reign in decades.
A storm around gender eligibility hit the women’s boxing competition, revealing the toxic relations between the IOC and a widely discredited International Boxing Association.
Meanwhile, a $1.5 billion clean-up of the Seine rewarded Paris with the optics of triathlon and marathon swimmers competing in the river through central Paris, without a wave of illness ensuing — even if bacteria levels forced some training to be canceled.
But for all the sporting triumph and drama, the biggest star of the show for many was the City of Light itself and the fabulous backdrop it lent to much of the competition.
“They’ve got a high bar to reach. A lot of work to do,” said James Rutledge, 59, a former banker wearing a Team USA t-shirt outside the Stade de France. “Hollywood next? That’s something to play with.”


Egypt captain Salah released from international duty

Egypt captain Salah released from international duty
Updated 56 min 23 sec ago
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Egypt captain Salah released from international duty

Egypt captain Salah released from international duty
  • The 32-year-old has “been released early from international duty amid the ongoing October break,” Liverpool said
  • Egypt need a single point in the next match to qualify as they sit six points ahead of rivals

LIVERPOOL: Egypt captain Mohamed Salah will not play in next week’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Mauritania, club side Liverpool confirmed on Saturday.
The 32-year-old has “been released early from international duty amid the ongoing October break,” Liverpool said.
On Friday, Salah scored for Egypt in a 2-0 victory over Mauritania and had been due to play a second fixture against the same opponents on Tuesday.
Egypt manager Hossam Hassan had told journalists in Cairo on Friday that there were concerns over playing on Mauritania’s artificial turf and injury fears.

Record seven-time African champions Egypt faced stubborn resistance from Mauritania until Mahmoud ‘Trezeguet’ Hassan netted 69 minutes into the Group C clash.
Prolific Liverpool scorer Salah put the outcome beyond doubt with a second goal 10 minutes later to maintain the perfect record of the Pharaohs after three rounds.
Egypt need a single point in the next match to qualify as they sit six points ahead of rivals Cape Verde, Botswana and Mauritania.
Liverpool also confirmed that Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk had been also released early from international duty.
Van Dijk was dismissed for the Netherlands after picking up two yellow cards during a 1-1 UEFA Nations League draw with Hungary.
“The pair will take no further part for their respective nations this month after the decision was made to relieve them both early from their international commitments.”


Sinner and Djokovic reach Shanghai Masters final. Sabalenka rallies over Gauff at Wuhan

Sinner and Djokovic reach Shanghai Masters final. Sabalenka rallies over Gauff at Wuhan
Updated 12 October 2024
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Sinner and Djokovic reach Shanghai Masters final. Sabalenka rallies over Gauff at Wuhan

Sinner and Djokovic reach Shanghai Masters final. Sabalenka rallies over Gauff at Wuhan
  • Victory ensured Sinner will be the ATP year-end No. 1 and the first Italian to achieve that feat
  • Djokovic was clearly struggling for mobility and balance with his left knee heavily strapped, but US Open runner-up Fritz could not take advantage

SHANGHAI: Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will chase his seventh ATP title of the year in the Shanghai Masters final after beating Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday.
Victory ensured Sinner will be the ATP year-end No. 1 and the first Italian to achieve that feat.
His 64th match win of the year set up a final against Novak Djokovic, who overcame physical discomfort to beat seventh-ranked Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (6) and move closer to a 100th career title and a record-extending fifth at Shanghai.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion also improved to 10-0 in his career matches against Fritz, who blew a 5-3 lead in the second-set tiebreaker and a set point at 6-5 up.
Djokovic was clearly struggling for mobility and balance with his left knee heavily strapped, but US Open runner-up Fritz could not take advantage.
He lost a long rally at 6-6 and succumbed on the first match point when Djokovic stabbed a volley at the net and the American flicked it just long at full stretch.
Djokovic leads 4-3 overall against Sinner, who has won the last two — including in the Australian Open semifinals.
Earlier, Sinner weathered a nearly two-hour baseline storm from No. 33-ranked Machac, who beat No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
The Italian has a shot at his third Masters title in 2024 following victories in Miami and Cincinnati, to go with his wins at the Australian Open and US Open.
“I just tried to stay there every point, to see what was going to happen,” Sinner said. “Just playing every point with the maximum intensity I could, so I’m very happy about that. I’m happy to be back in a final again.
“I’m just looking forward to (the final), to try to find a solution somehow ... and hopefully it’s going to win the match.”
Sinner fired 10 aces and 28 winners, against only seven unforced errors, in a characteristically efficient performance.
Wuhan Open
Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka rallied from a slow start to beat an in-form Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals to advance to her third straight Wuhan final and preserve her perfect record at the tournament.
Sabalenka will face seventh-ranked Zheng Qinwen in the final. The Paris Olympics champion beat No. 51-ranked Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4. Sabalenka will be bidding for her fourth title of the season, which includes the Australian Open and US Open.
The Belarussian’s 16th straight victory at Wuhan ended Gauff’s own recent win streak at nine, including the China Open title last week. But it looked anything but certain for Sabalenka as she crashed 6-1 in the opening set.
“In the first set she was just crushing it,” Sabalenka said. “Whatever she was doing, everything was flying in. Everything was so aggressive. I didn’t have much opportunities.”
In a fight between the last two US Open champions, Gauff led by a break early in the second but Sabalenka responded to pull level at 4-4 and saved a break point on serve to take a 5-4 lead.
Serving to stay in the set, Gauff was broken as Sabalenka hit a lunging forehand volley to force a deciding set.
The Belarussian carried her momentum into the third, extending her streak to seven games for a 3-0 lead. Gauff fought back to level at 4-4, but Sabalenka held strong to halt Gauff’s run.
Sabalenka broke once more after Gauff hit her season-worst 21st double fault on match point, ending the 2 1/2-hour match.
“I know what she’s going through. This is really difficult,” said Sabalenka, who had issues on her serve in the past. “But I know that if she’ll be able to overcome this serve situation, I’m pretty sure she’s going to be one of the greatest players.”


Aryna Sabalenka downs Coco Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final

Aryna Sabalenka downs Coco Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
Updated 12 October 2024
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Aryna Sabalenka downs Coco Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final

Aryna Sabalenka downs Coco Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
  • A champion in Wuhan in 2018 and 2019, Sabalenka improves her perfect record in the tournament to 16-0
  • Sabalenka has now won 19 of her last 20 matches, a stretch that includes titles in Cincinnati and at the US Open

WUHAN, China: Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a set down to beat Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday and reach the Wuhan Open final for the third time.
A champion in Wuhan in 2018 and 2019, Sabalenka improved her perfect record in the tournament to 16-0 and awaits Zheng Qinwen or Wang Xinyu in the final.
Gauff, who was on a nine-match winning streak on the back of her title run in Beijing last week, played a perfect first set but committed a whopping 21 double-faults during a semi-final lasting two hours, 26 minutes.
Sabalenka has now won 19 of her last 20 matches, a stretch that includes titles in Cincinnati and at the US Open.
“The atmosphere was incredible,” said Sabalenka, who was 2-4 down in the second set.
“It definitely felt like one of the biggest matches of my career because the crowd made it feel like it was a Grand Slam final.”
Sabalenka struggled on serve early on and couldn’t control her forehand as a clinical Gauff leapt to a double-break 5-0 lead inside 19 minutes.
The American dropped a mere two points behind her first serve and limited the Belarusian to just two winners throughout that opening frame.
If the first set was a rout, the second was a dogfight with six of the first eight games going against serve.
After 78 minutes of play, Sabalenka found herself in the lead for the first time in the match, inching ahead 5-4 to up the pressure on Gauff, whose serve abandoned her when she needed it most.
With Gauff’s double-fault count rising, Sabalenka took full advantage and broke serve to level the contest and force a decider.
A marathon third game that witnessed seven deuces and three break points saw Sabalenka win a seventh consecutive game and hold for a 3-0 lead in the final set.
Despite Gauff’s best retaliatory efforts to level for 4-4 Sabalenka held on to close out a gritty victory.


Strong field set for season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai

Strong field set for season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai
Updated 12 October 2024
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Strong field set for season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai

Strong field set for season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai
  • Major champions Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Adam Scott will tee off at at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Nov. 14-17

DUBAI: The 2024 Race to Dubai is set for a thrilling conclusion, with a host of global stars already confirmed for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Nov. 14-17.

Billy Horschel, who recently claimed his second BMW PGA Championship title, will tee off on the Earth Course alongside major champions Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, and Adam Scott, and fellow Rolex Series winner Robert MacIntyre, who won the Genesis Scottish Open in July.

They join reigning Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy and his fellow Ryder Cup star and 2017 European No. 1 Tommy Fleetwood, with both already confirmed for the final Rolex Series event of the season.

Horschel’s victory at Wentworth saw him move up to third on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, and the American will be making his second appearance in the season-ending event.

The 37-year-old won the PGA Tour’s FedExCup in 2014 after claiming the BMW Championship and Tour Championship titles in back-to-back weeks, and the eight-time PGA Tour winner is excited by the opportunity to win the DP World Tour’s season-ending title.

“I’m excited to return to Dubai next month to finish my season,” said Horschel. “I really enjoyed my experience at Jumeirah Golf Estates three years ago and I’m looking forward to getting back to the UAE.

“It has been great playing in some of the DP World Tour’s most historic events in the latter part of the season and I hope to finish the year on a high note with another memorable experience in Dubai.

“I’m incredibly proud to have won the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour, so to have a chance to add the DP World Tour Championship title to my trophy cabinet would certainly be very special.”

Horschel finished joint runner-up at the 152nd Open at Royal Troon alongside Justin Rose, who has also confirmed his return to the DP World Tour Championship. Joining them in the field is Australian Adam Scott, who won the Masters Tournament in 2013, the same year that Rose won the US Open at Merion.

Fellow major champion Lowry will be competing in back-to-back weeks in the UAE, after also confirming his appearance at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The Irishman, who won the 148th Open at Royal Portrush in 2019, has recorded 13 top 20 worldwide finishes in 2024, including a victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA Tour alongside McIlroy.

Scotsman MacIntyre is enjoying a career-best season a year on from making his Ryder Cup debut at Marco Simone, having won both the RBC Canadian Open and his home Genesis Scottish Open in 2024.

The 28-year-old is currently sixth on the Race to Dubai Rankings and is hoping to eclipse his previous highest finish of ninth on the season-long standings, which he achieved in 2019.


WTA Finals in Riyadh should be the ‘most prestigious’ event, says tournament director Muguruza

WTA Finals in Riyadh should be the ‘most prestigious’ event, says tournament director Muguruza
Updated 12 October 2024
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WTA Finals in Riyadh should be the ‘most prestigious’ event, says tournament director Muguruza

WTA Finals in Riyadh should be the ‘most prestigious’ event, says tournament director Muguruza
  • ‘We could make an impact that lasts beyond the event itself, to leave a legacy for many years to come,’ said Marina Storti, CEO of the WTA’s commercial arm

There is a famous viral video of an eight-year-old Coco Gauff dancing to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” in the stands of center court at the US Open during Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day.

From that same 2012 edition of the tournament, there are images of the young Gauff watching Venus Williams play her first round match. She is seen sitting right behind Williams’ bench.

Eleven years later, Gauff stood in the middle of Arthur Ashe Stadium and lifted the US Open trophy, becoming a Grand Slam champion at the age of 19.

Just as she was inspired by Venus and Serena Williams growing up, and got to manifest a dream that started when she was a young fan in the stands at the US Open, Gauff is hoping she and her fellow players can have a similar impact when the WTA Finals roll through Riyadh this November.

“I feel like in order to enact a dream or for a kid to see a dream, they have to see it in person,” Gauff said in New York last month.

“Obviously, you guys all saw that video of me a long time ago here. A lot of the people are hoping that there is a player or a kid that comes out from Saudi and able to say, ‘This WTA Finals changed my outlook,’ or made me realize I had a dream or a possibility in this sport.

“I think that’s what tennis is all about.”

 

 

The prestigious season-ending championships of the WTA Tour will be hosted in Riyadh for three years, with the first edition taking place from November 2-9, 2024 at King Saudi University’s indoor stadium.

The tournament features the best eight singles players and top eight doubles teams on the women’s circuit and will be the biggest professional tennis event to be staged in Saudi Arabia.

Considered the crown jewel of the tour, the WTA Finals has experienced great uncertainty over the past few years, mostly due to the coronavirus pandemic that came after just one staging of the tournament in 2019 in Shenzhen, which was meant to host the event for 10 years.

The three-year partnership between the WTA Finals and the Saudi Tennis Federation has numerous objectives and there are several reasons why Riyadh was chosen as the new host city for the tournament.

“It was really important to us that we were not only bringing the WTA Finals to make the Finals into an amazing event, but also that we could make an impact that lasts beyond the event itself, to leave a legacy for many years to come,” Marina Storti, the CEO of the commercial arm of the WTA, WTA Ventures told Arab News in a recent interview.

“And really, this is part of our strategy of growing women’s tennis as a global sport and really looking to reach new audiences but also inspiring the next generation, helping tennis development and really contributing at the community level.”

The STF has an ambitious goal of inspiring one million people in the Kingdom to take up tennis by 2030.

That aligned well with the WTA’s targets and since June, community programs, spearheaded by Judy Murray, have started taking place in Riyadh.

“What was really good is we sat down with the STF and we were like, ‘okay, we really want something that’s concrete. This needs to have a real impact.’ So we developed a program that is in three pillars: the community tennis and workforce training, which is the bit that Judy is leading for us. The second one is women’s health, and the third piece is youth engagement,” explained Storti.

 

 

Murray was recently joined in Riyadh by WTA Finals tournament director, and former world No.1, Garbine Muguruza, where they visited schools, held community clinics, helped train coaches and teachers, and spent time with members of the Zahra Breast Cancer Association.

The women’s health pillar will involve the WTA bringing their ACEing Cancer campaign to the Kingdom, raising awareness and funds for the cause, while the youth engagement pillar is about “supporting local initiatives as much as bringing in new ideas, and it was recently confirmed that we’re working with the Special Olympics in Saudi Arabia towards holding clinics during the Finals,” Storti added.

Staging the WTA Finals in Riyadh will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the Kingdom, where young fans can get acquainted with the sport throughout the three years and perhaps choose to pick up a racquet themselves.

From a tour perspective, there is a lot riding on the success of these Finals.

After a promising start to what was meant to be a decade-long stay in Shenzhen in 2019, and where champion Ashleigh Barty pocketed a record paycheck of $4.42 million, the WTA Finals moved from one city to another — Guadalajara in 2021, Fort Worth in 2022, Cancun in 2023 — without finding a stable footing.

Prize money dwindled, attendance fluctuated, and the lack of a multi-year deal made it difficult to stage the tournament the way it was meant to be, which is the pinnacle of the WTA Tour.

Now with a three-year deal in place with Saudi Arabia, the prize money is back to where it should be, with organizers committing $15.25 million for the first edition, matching the total sum on offer for the men’s equivalent ATP Finals.

“We are at the beginning of a real transformation of women’s tennis,” said Storti.

“We see huge growth opportunity ahead, we’ve had an amazing 51 years but there’s still so much more to build. So it’s about developing tennis as a global sport, creating more opportunities for women to play at the elite level but also creating new markets and new audiences.

“And the fact that Saudi Arabia is a very rapidly growing market for sport and a country with a really young population that is showing an increasing trust in sport, and showing that real appetite to invest in both the elite level and at the grassroots, we think it’s fantastic to be part of that growth.”

The top players have been vocal about the issues they faced at the tournament in the last two years, sharing their discontent both publicly and behind closed doors with the tour’s top management.

These finals in Saudi Arabia are a great opportunity to restore the players’ trust in the WTA and rediscover the luster of the Tour’s crown jewel.

It is why the main focus for the WTA and the STF for these finals is perfecting the player experience.

“It’s one thing that we are working so hard on. Having Garbine Muguruza as the director for the WTA Finals is testament to how important we see the player experience,” said Storti.  

“She obviously won the tournament and she really cares about the players. She can give us the additional perspective at the leadership level and it shows how much of a priority it is.”

Storti has visited the host venue and says each player will have their own private locker room with its own bathroom and amenities. She said the facilities surrounding the main court will be “premium” and is certain the players will be satisfied. The indoor arena will hold a capacity of 4,200 spectators, which can be extended as the tournament grows in upcoming editions.

“We also want the players to have fun outside of the court. We hope that they’ll enjoy the best of Saudi hospitality, there are some amazing restaurants and spas that we will offer to them and I know they’re getting excited,” added Storti.

Muguruza, who officially retired from tennis earlier this year, won the WTA Finals in 2021 and is keen to bring her own perspective into the mix.

“I think that this relationship with the Ministry of Sport, the federation and the WTA, I think it’s great. I’ve been seeing how much they complement each other and I do believe that it’s going to be a great event,” the Spanish two-time Grand Slam champion told Arab News in a recent interview.

“Or at least I know the objective is to make the finals the most glamorous event, the most prestigious event, because I think the players deserve it.

“I’m trying to bring everything that I would like to see if I am a player. I want the players to feel this way because when I used to play I wanted the crowd to be here and the music and I wanted to feel like I’m part of the show, like I own the show.

“I definitely want to make the players feel so happy that when they leave from Riyadh, they’re going to be like, ‘This was a great experience’. I hope they will want to come back and they will be motivated to play the next years, that’s the ultimate goal.”

As spots in the field are rapidly filling up with players securing qualification in these closing weeks before the finals, many of them are excited about the chance to make an impact on the local community in Saudi Arabia.

American Taylor Townsend locked down her qualification in doubles, alongside her partner Katerina Siniakova, and will be making her WTA Finals debut in Riyadh.

“I think it’s such a huge opportunity to be able to bring women’s sports there but also inspire, just with the nature of the culture, it hasn’t always been very inclusive for women; so to be able to be there and represent, especially as a woman of color, I think it would be fantastic, just on a worldwide stage of representation and just showing how things are evolving in the world,” Townsend, the reigning Wimbledon doubles champion, told Arab News.

“So it would mean a lot to me and for me I’d hold it with the most honor and pride.”