"Ultimately had the moral courage to hit the pause button" - Journalist praises decision of WTA Finals being held in Mexico over Saudi Arabia

Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim recently took to social media to express his ambivalence towards the WTA's decision to hold their year-end championships in Cancun, Mexico.

The American maintained in his post on X (formerly Twitter) that the late timing of the 2023 WTA Finals' venue confirmation doesn't bode well for the women's governing body.

Having said that, he did concede in the same breath that the tennis community had avoided the short end of the stick, as the Florida-based organization was reportedly planning to lease the year-end tournament's license to Saudi Arabia previously.

"We all agree the timing is sub-optimal…But it ought to be acknowledged that the Women's Tennis Association had a more lucrative offer on the table, and ultimately had the moral courage to at least hit the “pause” button….," Wertheim wrote.

The WTA's recent business operations have been met with universal criticism from the tennis community on social media.

The Florida-based organization first attracted their ire when it failed to finalize the date and location of the 2023 WTA Finals, which is scheduled to begin in late October, until this very week.

Perhaps what stung them more, though, was a report that the year-end championships would likely be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2024, if not this year itself.

The Middle Eastern country, which is infamous for its human rights violations, has been looking for tennis avenues to invest in lately.

Last month, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), bought the license for the ATP NextGen Finals from 2023 to 2027.

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The WTA had previously broken a long-term contract to hold their year-end tournament in China

Peng Shuai stopped competing on the women's tour following the fallout from her sexual assault allegations

For the uninitiated, the WTA signed a 10-year deal to hold their elite tournament in the city of Shenzhen, China, back in 2018.

At the time, the women's governing body viewed the "Red Dragon" as a crucial market for its product. However, the contract was broken just after two years due to unforseeable circumstances.

In 2021, the Florida-based organization made the decision not to hold any tournaments in China due to rising concerns about the wellbeing of Peng Shuai, who had gone AWOL after accusing a former government official of sexual assault.

And while the former World No. 14 eventually resurfaced in the mainstream media, the women's governing body still didn't budge in their boycott of the country in 2022 (while holding their elite tournament in Fort Worth, USA).

This year, however, the organization finally gave in to margin pressure as they lifted its suspension of tournament operations in China for the upcoming indoor hardcourt season.