Creating a true tournament culture": Gauff advocates for sustainable anchoring of WTA Finals

In an interview with Arab News, Coco Gauff has advocated for a more consistent future for the WTA Finals. According to the world No. 3, the tournament should remain in the same city for several years to attract fans and build a sustainable culture.

For the second consecutive year, the WTA Finals will be played in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) next month. A tournament that had suffered in terms of attendance (empty stands during some matches) but had pleased the participating players.

This was the case for champion Coco Gauff, who praised the work done by organizers after her victory in the final. Interviewed by Arab News media, the world No. 3 wants to find stability for the women's Masters:

"My last three participations were in three different locations. We shouldn't change venues every year. I haven't spent enough time on the tour to know if ten years is a good duration, because I've only played there three times.

But I really think there's an advantage to keeping a tournament in the same place for two or three consecutive years. I think it helps create a culture around that tournament in that region, which can attract more attention and allow fans, if they wish, to plan their trips and so on.

The problem is that the 2022 and 2023 editions of the WTA Finals were announced quite late. And I don't think attendance was very good because of that.

For Riyadh, it was wise to only consider three years, just to test the waters and see how it goes, given that there had never been a professional women's event there before.

But from the players' perspective, it really seemed like a success. I don't know how it went from a logistical standpoint and all that, but from my experience, it seems like a success. I wouldn't be against coming back in three years or more.