Sabalenka praises WTA new mission, welcomes Saudi investment

World number one Aryna Sabalenka praised on Friday the WTA’s mission to highlight the personalities of its athletes and called Saudi Arabia’s investment in the women’s tennis tour an important part of growing the game.

The WTA rebranding, complete with a new logo and “Rally the world” tagline, comes amid a rise in global viewership and a record $4.8 million prize awarded last year to Coco Gauff for winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh, a tournament sponsored by Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

“It means a lot. We needed this refreshing moment for so long,” Sabalenka told Reuters at a WTA-hosted cocktail party in Hollywood celebrating the tour’s new look and mission.

“It’s a big move and I hope it’s going to help our sport to get better.”

Sabalenka, a big-serving Belarusian who grew up admiring the power games of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, said giving fans a more intimate look at the stars of the tour would pay off.

“The WTA should show our personalities and what it takes to become a top athlete,” she said.

“We all have to be an inspiration for the younger generation.”

Announced in May, the multi-year partnership with PIF marked the latest move in a dramatic shift by the women’s tour, which was previously reluctant to embrace Saudi partnership amid criticisms of the Gulf nation’s human rights record.

“I’ve been there a lot and they have passion for sport. Their help means a lot for us,” Sabalenka said.

“Their support is very important for the WTA. I think all of us will be very grateful for their support.”

The men’s ATP Tour also signed a multi-year “strategic partnership” last year with PIF, which has pumped huge amounts of money into soccer, Formula One and the LIV Golf circuit.

“Our players are very excited to be in a country where they could be inspirational role models,” WTA Ventures CEO Marina Storti said at the event.

“It was fantastic to see Coco Gauff as our champion, playing in a full house in front of boys and girls, men and women of Saudi Arabia, who can look to her as an inspirational figure.

“So we believe that is very much part of our mission, this idea that we want to be in new markets, we want to inspire fans wherever they are.”

Meanwhile, top-seeded Jessica Pegula needed just 58 minutes on Friday to post a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russia’s Anna Blinkova to reach the semifinals of the ATX Open in Austin, Texas.

Pegula won 76.9 percent of her first-serve points and converted 5 of 7 break points while cruising to the victory. She is into her second semifinal of the season, the other coming at Adelaide where she eventually lost to Madison Keys in the final in January.

Pegula will next face Australian wild card Ajla Tomljanovic, who outlasted Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8) in their quarterfinal match. Tomljanovic saved a match point in the third-set tiebreaker while winning four of the final five points.

In other Friday quarterfinals, fifth-seeded McCartney Kessler of the United States overtook Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, and Belgium’s Greet Minnen pushed past the United States’ Caroline Dolehide 6-3, 7-5.

Agencies