The WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia has come under scathing criticism despite boasting a huge purse of prize money. The poor attendance at the tournament has surprised many in the tennis world so much so that the some of the fans watching from across the world also seem to have lost interest in the tournament. At a time when tennis is struggling to keep pace with the growing interest in Pickleball, this comes as a huge blow.

The American star Coco Gauff has shown tremendous form in the tournament though, beating the likes of Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the final. But ahead of the summit clash between Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng, fans have been talking about giving the match a miss. Why is that?

To put things into perspective, Iga Swiatek’s match against Barbora Krejcikova on Sunday had just about 800 odd spectators in a stadium that can have 15000 people. This is a shocking attendance number for a player who is one of the best in the world currently. Additionally, other matches in the tournament in Riyadh also had a sparse crowd in the stadium.

The former American pro Andy Roddick also highlighted the concerning attendance numbers at the tournament, saying, “A 100 people in the crowd is startling. Right. But if it was sold 80 percent through, then great. People in the seats is great for atmosphere. It’s great for the players because you want to feel that buzz, you want to feel that it’s an important event.” The low attendance numbers have become a common cause of concern not just for the tennis bigwigs like Roddick but also for the fans.

Fans reveal harsh truth about the WTA Finals despite Coco Gauff’s finals appearance

Fans took to social media to express their displeasure at the low attendance numbers at the event, before the start of the final match between Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng. A section of fans highlighted this glaring issue which, according to them, discouraged them to watch the matches. A fan wrote on X, “I gave it a miss – not keen on the location and the pics of the near empty stadium just felt dull. At least last year’s venue gave rise to some iconic photos. I will be watching the ATP tour finals tho…the atmosphere in Turin last year was fab.”

On the other hand, some fans weren’t happy with Saudi Arabia being given the hosting rights. Sporting bodies have been much criticized for choosing money over everything else, and the WTA has received the flak as well in recent times. The fans have had a go at the governing body for the choice of venue. One of them mentioned, “No. Will not support any event held in S.A.” The sparse crowd in the tournament has brought down questions if people in Saudi Arabia are really interested in tennis. With barely a handful of fans attending the event, it doesn’t do the tournament any good. One of the X users made a blunt revelation and said, “The only match that matter is the final, that being said this is a pointless tournament. Go on the street ask normal people if they know what it is and they be like what are u talking about.”

Despite the poor attendance, the players have given it their all to bring some respite to the fans who are watching the matches from afar. One of the fans felt pity for the players as their efforts didn’t get that much of spotlight with the tournament recording a low turnout. The comment read, “You can’t replace an atmosphere, it’s sad for the players who deserve much better support.” On the contrary, a section of fans felt that the players were only concerned about the huge prize money at the event and not by the lackluster turnout. Calling out the likes of Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, one fan said, “Players are playing only for the paycheck. lackluster.”

After the tournament, the WTA might want to conduct a fair review of the tournament in order to solve these glaring issues before the next edition. Nonetheless, the question mark still remains whether the tournament should’ve been moved to Saudi Arabia or not. What do you think?