Ons Jabeur says she is bothered by those who are ‘super ignorant’ about Saudi Arabia with the WTA Finals heading to the country later this year. 

The world No.9 has reiterated her support behind the premier event of the women’s Tour heading to the Middle Eastern nation despite concerns raised by some. Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of sportswashing which is the process of using sport to improve a reputation that has been tarnished by wrongdoing. Concerns have been raised about human rights in the country, especially for women and those from the LGBT community. 

Earlier this year, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert co-wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post warning against a move to the country. Prompting anger from Saudi Arabia with its ambassador to America, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, highlighting improvements made to women’s rights in a two-page statement posted on social media. However, Navratilova recently stated that she has no plans to work in the country as a pundit. 

Amid the debate, Jabeur told reporters in Madrid on Saturday that she is ‘proud’ of the WTA Finals being held in Saudi Arabia and believes it will help inspire a new generation of players. 

“I am always honestly biased in this position here and the decision they took. I’m very happy to be there. As an Arab woman, I’m very proud some things are moving there in Saudi,” she said after beating Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. 
“Obviously people could have a different opinion. Where it bothers me is that when some people, they don’t know what’s really happening there, and are super ignorant about what’s really happening in Saudi.
“So as Princess Reema said, You should come to Saudi, be there, and judge yourself.”

One of Jabeur’s sponsors is fitness and welfare brand Kayanee which is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. According to the company, their goal is to ‘promote quality of life for women.’ 

“Obviously I wish to see better comments (about Saudi Arabia),” she continued. 
“For me, it always has been about chances, and going there not just to play tennis matches but to give the opportunity especially for younger women to see their role models from before and to believe that they can achieve anything.”

In recent days a series of meetings have been held in Madrid between tennis bosses and representatives from Saudi Arabia concerning the future of the sport. The country has expressed interest in hosting a Masters 1000 event but the ATP had to issue a statement last Friday saying that no official decision has taken place. Should they get the green light, one possibility is the Saudi event could be held in February which would have a massive negative impact on the South American swing. There have also been talks about the proposed Premium Tour. 

Shortly before this year’s Madrid Open began, it was confirmed that the PIF had signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the tournament. The deal follows similar agreements with events in  Indian Wells, Miami and the Nitto ATP Finals, in addition to the Beijing ATP 500 event, and the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. The PIF is also a Platinum Partner of the ATP and has naming rights to its official rankings. 

Holger Rune came back from one set and a break down to beat Mariano Navone 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in a hard-fought match at the Madrid Mutua Open. 

Rune was just two points from defeat at 5-7 5-6 in the second set. Navone hit two double faults before Rune converted on his break point to level forcing the second set to the tie-break. Rune went up a 5-1 lead in the third and fifth games. Navone won three games to close the gap to 4-5. Rune saved a break point to hold serve before sealing the win on his fifth match point after 2 hours and 59 minutes. 

Rune set up a third round match against Tallon Griekspoor, who came back from one set down to beat Taro Daniel 4-6 6-3 6-4. Navone reached two ATP Tour finals in Rio de Janeiro and Bucharest. 

Alexander Zverev did not face a break point in in his 6-3 6-2 win over Borna Coric. Zverev has improved to 4-3 in his seven head-to-head matches against Coric. 

Coric saved three break points to hold serve at deuce in the fifth game of the first set before breaking serve in the seventh and ninth games to win the first set 6-3. The German player broke twice in the sixth and eighth games to win the second set 6-2. “I played quite well today. I feel well. With him it can always go both ways. He is extremely dangerous and a tough competitor. Historically someone I don’t like playing, but I am happy today, winning in straight sets and happy to be in the next round”, said Zverev. 

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka edged past Magda Linette 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the second round of the Madrid Mutua Open. 

Sabalenka started the match with a break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. 

Linette broke to love in the fourth game and consolidated to take a 4-1 lead. The Polish player earned three break points in the sixth game. She did not convert them, but she served out the second set with a hold at 30 forcing the match to the third set. 

Sabalenka saved two break points in the first game of the third set and and another chance in the seventh game to stay on serve. 

Sabalenka earned her fifth break point in the first game of the third set with a powerful forehand return at 30 and converted it with a net cord winner to take a 5-3 lead. Sabalenka hit an ace to wrap up the match after 2 hours and 9 minutes setting up a third round match against either Katie Boulter or Robin Montgomery. 

“It’s not about being confident. It’s about how much you are ready to do to get it. It’s about the hard work and to be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It’s about staying there and fighting for it”, said Sabalenka. 

World number 4 Elina Rybakina beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-4 6-3. Rybakina earned an early break in the second game of the first set. Bronzetti broke straight back in the third game and held serve at love to draw level to 2-2. Rybakina broke in the 10^thgame to take a 6-4. After a trade of breaks in the first two games of the second set Rybakina broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. The Kazakh player saved two break points to hold serve after two deuces and served out on her first match point. 

Rybakina will face a third round match against Mayar Sherif, who Marta Kostyuk 6-2 7-5. 

Rybakina leads the tour with three titles, 27 match wins and 5 titles (Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, Stuttgart)