Tim Henman hits out as just 400 people watch WTA finals in Saudi Arabia
Tim Henman has questioned the staging of this year's WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia after low attendances at the event's opening matches.
The prestigious year-end women's tennis tournament kicked off in Riyadh on Saturday under a cloud of controversy, with the event facing accusations of 'sportswashing' from various critics.
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Despite this however, former British no.1 Henman has raised another issue in the tournament's early stages.
The second day of the WTA's premier tournament saw a host of household names competing, including five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek prevailing over Barbora Krejcikova.
After this, US sensation Coco Gauff then stormed to a 6-3 6-2 win over compatriot Jessica Pegula, with Olympic gold medallists Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani also taking part in the doubles.
But the star-studded line-up was not reflected in crowd size, with the reporting that only 400 fans were in attendance at the 5,000-seater King Saud University Indoor Arena.
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This was made worse by the cheapest tickets for the season-ending showpiece being rumoured to be in the region of £6.
And Henman, who has been covering the event as part of Sky Sport's commentary team, has shared his disappointment at the lack of support in the stands.
He said: “There’s been plenty of debate over whether sporting events should be coming to Saudi Arabia.
“But if we move past that and just look at this WTA Finals as an event, it’s extremely disappointing when you’ve got the world’s best players – Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff – performing in front of a crowd like that today."
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Henman also called for the competition organisers' to better promote the event in a bid to boost attendances.
He continued: “The organisers here are in a privileged position where they’re not trying to necessarily make money out of the gate receipts.
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“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.”
The issue of low crowd numbers at the WTA Finals is not a new one, with the last two instalments of the competition, in Cancun and Texas, both also suffering from poor attendances.
However, with it being announced in April that Riyadh is to host the year-end competition until 2026, Henman was quick to point out the difference between this competition and its predecessors.
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He went on: “Texas and Cancun were both arranged at the last minute, whereas the announcement of Riyadh came back in April.
“I think the organisers have got to look at the lack of fans. The way that they’ve built the facility and looked after the players has been really impressive.
"But the allocation of tickets – I don’t think you can even call it a ticket sale, when this isn’t really a commercial operation – needs to be taken more seriously. Today, the crowd was almost non-existent.”
With the low attendance figures sparking plenty of debate, the WTA reminded critics of their long-term goal to build interest in the sport in Saudi Arabia, and pointed to the country's unique timetable.
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A statement read: “We’re bringing tennis to a new audience and that takes time to build.”
“We always anticipated lower attendance with the start of the Saudi working week on Sunday but anticipate that numbers will build as we approach the weekend.”
The staging of the WTA Finals in Riyadh follows the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament which featured some of the biggest names in the men's game.
Jannick Sinner emerged victorious as he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final, with sporting greats Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal also taking part.
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