Saudi Arabia has made its explosive entrance into tennis, entering into a commercial partnership with ATP thanks to PIF, the Arab Investment Fund, organizing the millionaire exhibition the Six Kings Slam and hosting the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where, among the eight participating players, there is Coco Gauff.
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The young American star, in the media day of the year-end Master, touched on many delicate topics, such as women's rights in Saudi Arabia and the LGBTQ+ issue in the country, revealing that she also spoke about it with Princess Reema.
"I'm very aware that we're not going to come here and change everything. It would be very naive to say that. But it's a nuanced kind of conversation. I think people not knowing my grandmother's background and integrating into her school is not going to be nice, but obviously in the long run I think it might be better for everybody. We've talked to a lot of women here in Saudi Arabia. One of them was Princess Reema. A lot of calls with her, about how the best approach would be to come into this different place that women have never been, women in the United States, have never been. I think that was important to me and that was one of the questions I raised because of LGBTQ issues, women's rights issues, how can we help with that. I would be lying to you if I said I didn't have reservations. Obviously you know who I am and what I'm talking about. I've been on pretty much every player call that I've been able to with the WTA. One of the things I've said, if we come here, we can't just come here and play our tournament and leave. Like, we have to have a real program or a real plan in place," said the young American player.
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In the same press conference, Coco talkedabout her passion for Taylor Swift, noting that she has been a fan since she was 14 and that she hopes to see her perform.
"I have tickets to go back this year. I hope she performs that song. It would be really cool to see her live. I've been a fan of Tyler since I was 14. I saw her perform for the first time when I was 15. I went to her music festival last year," she said.