Tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert say hosting the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia would be a “step backward” for women’s tennis.

The WTA came close to staging the 2023 Finals in Saudi, before going to Cancun in Mexico.

However, the WTA is still considering moving the season-ending event to Riyadh for future tournaments.

Navratilova and Evert said this would “represent not progress, but significant regression” for the sport.

In an opinion piece for the Washington Post,, external the pair – who dominated women’s tennis during the 1970s and ’80s – described the WTA Finals as the “crown jewel” of the women’s tour.

They criticised the WTA Board for not consulting players about the potential move and asked the governing body to start an “open, honest discussion” to question “whether ‘progress’ and ‘engagement’ is really possible” in the Gulf state.