The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Saudi Final, in Riyadh, seems not have been much of a draw, despite a total purse of $15 million and tickets selling for as little as 30 riyals (less than €8).
According to The Athletic, the match on Nov. 3, a Sunday, filled about 400 of the arena’s 5,000 seats. As The Athletic reports, though, Sunday is a working day, many Saudi students were then cramming for exams, and other matches, like the one on Saturday, had played to crowds at three-quarters the arena’s capacity.
How does this compare to some of the Grand Slam tournaments? The singles winner at Riyadh, Coco Gauff, took home $4.45 million, more than twice the prize, of $2.13 million, at this year’s Australian Open, which broke one million live spectators. Its Rod Laver Arena sits 15,000.
The US Open also broke a million in attendance this year. The women’s victor, Aryna Sabalenka, walked away from Arthur Ashe Stadium – capacity: 23,771 – with $3.6 million.
Former tennis pro Tim Henman, has told The Telegraph that, the debate over Saudi Arabia and its treatment of women aside, it was “extremely disappointing” for the WTA Finals as an event to have the world’s best players performing in front such small crowds. “The organisers here are in a privileged position where they’re not trying to necessarily make money out of the gate receipts. So they should get out into the communities and into the schools, because we need spectators here to witness the best players and create that atmosphere.”
Gauff, also quoted in The Telegraph, said, “Anytime there’s something new in a region, I don’t expect the crowd to be full. It’s just part of growing the game. Look at the WNBA. Those stands probably weren’t as full a few years back, and now they’re full for all the teams. So I think it’s just growing pains.”
The WTA agrees: “We’re bringing tennis to a new audience and that takes time to build.”
