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World No. 4 Jessica Pegula recently welcomed the idea of Saudi Arabia doing business with the WTA. The American's comments annoyed tennis fans who took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the matter.
Saudi Arabia has pumped large amounts of money into several sporting leagues including football, boxing and Formula 1 in recent years. The cash-rich middle-east country are now eyeing a potential deal with the WTA.
With WTA players currently being offered less prize money on tour events compared to their male counterparts in the ATP, the introduction of Saudi investment could bring about equal pay, an aspect that has influenced Pegula to support the deal.
"I'm sure we'll talk and go about it. If they [Saudi Arabia] could help getting us to equal prize money, though there are negatives, there's a lot of positives that can come out of it. Hopefully we don't just look at the negatives and we can see the positives. Hopefully something good comes out of it the right way," Pegula said during her press conference at Wimbledon.
However, fans online felt that players would be sacrificing morality in exchange for increased prize money and earnings if they were to partner with Saudi Arabia.
"What is morality when weighed against increased earnings?," a fan wrote.
Another fan joked that it took a "billionaire heiress" to find out the financial benefits of the WTA on partnering with the Saudi regime.
"In which a billionaire heiress thoughtfully points out that there is financial benefit to her of collaboration with a murderous regime," their tweet read.
Here are a few other reactions from fans:
Jessica Pegula trusts WTA chairman to make right decision on potential deal with Saudi Arabia
Jessica Pegula acknowledged the moral issues surrounding a partnership with Saudi Arabia and trusted WTA chairman, Steve Simon, to consider all aspects before making a decision on the potential deal.
"It's tough because there's obviously issues there. I also think there's issues in a lot of countries. Sometimes things don't get talked about as well. I trust Steve to make the right decision on what he feels is best for the WTA," Pegula said.
Jessica Pegula will commence her campaign at the 2023 Wimbledon on Monday, July 3. She will square off against fellow American Lauren Davis in the first round. This will be the duo's sixth meeting on the tour. Pegula has a 3-2 lead over Davis in the head-to-head record.
