"Women have essentially no rights there" - Martina Navratilova doubles down on her criticism of WTA Finals potentially being played in Saudi Arabia

Martina Navratilova has doubled down on her comments about the WTA Finals potentially being held in Saudi Arabia.

The American tennis legend divided opinions on her social media handle earlier on Saturday after stating that she personally wouldn't have fancied flying to Saudi Arabia, where women still experience unequal treatment.

While most fans felt her words resonated with them, a few accused Navratilova of cherrypicking her argument as she previously had no problem flying to other Middle Eastern countries for promotional activities. In the wake of the debate, she once again took to social media to elaborate on her stance.

Responding to a fan who suggested that there was a potential for change in Saudi Arabia, Martina Navratilova claimed that women still had "essentially no rights" in the country. She also insisted that it was too soon to begin talks with the Saudis regarding a potential collaboration.

"Women essentially have no rights there. Let them change a lot more, then we can interact more. Now is way too soon," Martina Navratilova wrote on her social media

It was first reported on Friday that the higher-ups at WTA were considering Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a potential venue for their year-end tournament in 2024. The idea was universally bashed by the tennis community on social media.

While Saudi Arabia's takeover of the sporting world has been rampant, it is yet to be seen whether the WTA and the ATP too, for that matter, choose to take their annual tennis tours to the Middle Eastern country.

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Martina Navratilova is a very vocal presence on social media

Martina Navratilova likes to give her opinions on current topics

Martina Navratilova regularly provides commentary on relevant political and social matters. The American recently took a thinly veiled jibe at Vivek Ramaswamy, a candidate for the Republican Party, as she claimed that his politics were just as bad as his tennis game.

"I wonder if that [Ramaswamy's forehand] could be an analogy for his politics," she wrote, followed by three female emojis and a clown emoji

Navratilova also speaks out against trans activism on her social media handle quite often. Recently, the 66-year-old lamented a Chicagoan mother losing her child's custody because the latter identified as transgender.

"This is just so wrong… trans went from 0.02% of population to going through the roof, statistically speaking. We are literally talking thousands of children into thinking they are trans… and taking them away from supportive parents- insane," she wrote.

Some time back, Navratilova also had also had a run-in with US football star Megan Rapinoe, who recently rallied for trans athletes' inclusion in sports.

"Yikes…" she commented.