Coco Gauff addresses Saudi Arabia's gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights ahead of WTA Finals 2024

Coco Gauff is the youngest competitor in the singles event of WTA Finals 2024.

Coco Gauff arrived in style in RIyadh, Saudi Arabia and was ready to face her rivals in WTA Finals 2024. Before proceeding to the match details and schedule, she spoke about Saudi Arabia’s gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights. Gauff mentioned that she was aware about the current conditions of women and LGBTQ+ issues in the country.

The 20-year-old believes that the sport can improve the conditions of the citizens and present opportunities to women. She said,’‘Sport can have a way to open doors for people… One of the things I said was if we come here, we can’t just play our tournament & leave.. we have to have a real plan in place.’ Gauff also talked about the future stars program where Saudi Arabia will introduce women into sports.

The young American also shared that she had talked to her Royal Highness Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud on the issues of gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights. Al-Saud has been Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States of America since early 2019 and was the first woman to hold the position. She is also a member of Saudi Arabia’s Olympic Committee and a member of the International Olympic Committee.

Also Read: WTA Finals 2024: Meet the eight contenders and their path to qualification

Gauff had discussed with Al-Saud on how to help with the issues in the region. She went on to inform that it is not possible and it is a nuance if they try to change everything. Gauff firmly supported the arrival of tennis in Saudi Arabia as it will help in transforming the lives of women athletes.

The world No #3 will be making her third consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals. She had reached the semi-finals last year while losing to Jessica Pegula. In her first outing, Gauff lost all three of her group stage matches in 2022. She will be hoping to improve her performance this time and become the first American to win the title since Serena Williams in 2014.

Gauff is in team orange alongside Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula and Barbora Krejcikova. She will begin her campaign against Pegula on November 3. Gauff will be playing to win and will hope to inspire her fans in Saudi Arabia.

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