"Hard to believe I am getting c**p" - Martina Navratilova surprised to receive hate for opposing WTA's possible Saudi Arabia deal

Martina Navratilova recently commented on the backlash she received for opposing the possibility of the WTA Finals being held in Saudi Arabia in the future. The WTA recently suggested it had not ruled out the prospect of having the year-end championships in the Middle Eastern nation.

WTA president Steve Simon has previously gone on record to say that the country presented 'big issues' as a host for women's tour events, citing Saudi Arabia's record on women's and LGBTQ rights as grounds for 'sports-washing'. However, the tour has declined to confirm or deny recent rumors that the WTA Finals could be held in Saudi Arabia in the future, instead stating that no decision had been made.

In that context, Martina Navratilova told sports journalist Jon Wertheim that if she were playing on the WTA tour at the moment, she would not have traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Finals.

"I can tell you 100 percent if I were still playing, I would not be going (to Saudi Arabia) for the Championships," Navratilova said.

However, Navratilova received a lot of backlash on social media for her comments, which she later addressed on Twitter. The American found it difficult to believe that she was being persecuted for speaking her mind.

"Hard to believe I am getting c**p for saying I would not go play tennis in Saudi Arabia. From all kinds of angles. WTAF???" the 18-time Grand Slam champion wrote.

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Martina Navratilova once opened up about how poorly the tennis world reacted to her coming out as lesbian

Martina Navratilova pictured with her wife.

Martina Navratilova came out as a lesbian back in 1981. She has been married to her wife, 'The Real Housewives of Miami' star Julia Lemigova, for the last eight years.

However, things weren't easy for the 18-time singles and 31-time doubles Grand Slam champion when she came out. Navratilova revealed in 2022 that she was subjected to jeers and muted applause because of her sexual orientation.

"I didn't really see it face-to-face, it was kind of the bigger picture when I was introduced to come on the court," Martina Navratilova said in an interview with Julie Bindel. "Everybody was cheering when Chris Evert was introduced or Evonne Goolagong, but when I came out onto the court it was muted applause."

"There were some jeers, some whistles. It was hard not to take it personally but I realized it was mostly because I was gay. Some of it was because I was winning too much perhaps," she added.