{"id":407677,"date":"2026-01-12T05:35:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T05:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407677\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T05:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T05:35:09","slug":"they-want-to-do-business-we-have-no-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407677\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThey want to do business; we have no say”"},"content":{"rendered":"

BRISBANE \u2013 Daria Kasatkina acknowledged that players have no influence over Saudi Arabia\u2019s growing presence on the WTA and ATP calendars.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs players, we don\u2019t have much voice in questions like that. Our organizations want to do business, and we, unfortunately, don\u2019t have a say,\u201d the world No. 48 said in Brisbane, asked by CLAY.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are players, we want to play tennis, we need to earn money and provide for our families, so I would say we\u2019re somewhere in the middle. We are the ones who have to go there and play, it\u2019s our job, and we are pretty limited in terms of where we can go and where we can\u2019t go,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

In March 2025, Kasatkina took Australian nationality due to the restrictions faced by LGBTQ+ people in Russia. \u201cIf I wanted to live a free and open life, the way I wanted, unfortunately I couldn\u2019t do that in Russia,\u201d she told The Guardian<\/a> in May. She was also one of the few Russian players to openly oppose Russia\u2019s invasion inUkraine.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia criminalises homosexuality and has restrictive laws affecting women.<\/p>\n

\"kasatkinaDaria Kasatkina and her fiancee Natalia Zabiiako<\/p>\n

Seeing the glass half full? For the former world No. 8, Saudi Arabia hosting major sporting events can represent an opportunity for young Saudi women.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the good thing here is if we can come to a country like that and show young girls who are there, trying to play tennis or practise other sports, that it\u2019s actually possible, that it\u2019s not that far away,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Since 2025, the country has hosted the WTA Finals, and in 2028 it will stage a new Masters 1000 event on the men\u2019s tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we just cut off the opportunity, they\u2019re not going to move forward for sure. They were already not in the best situation, and now we would say, \u2018OK, no, nothing is for you, I\u2019m sorry.\u2019 But if we can support those girls and show them that their opportunities are actually not that far away, for me that\u2019s a good thing. And if we can improve that, that\u2019s also good. I try to think that way,\u201d Kasatkina said.<\/p>\n

While Saudi Arabia\u2019s arrival on the men\u2019s tour has largely been criticised from a financial perspective<\/a>, the debate on the women\u2019s side has gone much deeper: the question of legitimising, through sport, a country with significant restrictions on women\u2019s and LGBTQ+ rights.<\/p>\n

Legends such as Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert have spoken out strongly against the alliance.<\/p>\n

Kasatkina, for her part, offered a balanced view on one of the most controversial issues in tennis<\/a>, as she competes for the first time on Australian soil as a local resident.<\/p>\n

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