CHENNAI: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently announced that it will invest financially into the sport of tennis on an international scale, a move that Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios publicly welcomed. There was pushback to both the announcement and to Kyrgios’ support for it from fans as well as other athletes, notably Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina, who is quoted as saying “Many issues concerning this country. It’s easier for men because they feel pretty good there.
We don’t feel the same way”. When The Tennis Letter reported on Kasatkina’s discontentment, Kyrgios replied to the publication via social media, referring to the Kingdom and to his partner Costeen Hatzi: “My girlfriend felt fine there [shrug emoji]”.
Kyrgios claiming that one person’s supposedly positive experience, as represented by him, negates those of the many who feel otherwise is sheer arrogance. In this case, sexist arrogance. Men speaking on behalf of women, using women as props to prove their own beliefs, is typical sexism.
And — white women’s criticisms of patriarchy in cultures and countries wherein they retain a higher status have rightfully been called out by women of colour, who experience the true extent of the bigotry and understand more deeply nuanced underpinnings. That Kasatkina is white and commenting on Saudi Arabia may be deemed as racist by some. But the Kingdom’s track record on gender inequality is legally consolidated. Kasatkina presumably speaks from experience and observation. Her discomfort goes beyond herself, and serves as allyship — as a citizen of one authoritarian place with citizens of another.
Lest you think it isn’t my place to say this, either, I’m speaking as a feminist who is perfectly aware that in 2022 India ranked at 135 out of 146, eight places lower than Saudi Arabia at 127, in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index. This year, India stands at 127 and Saudi Arabia at 131. When languishing that far down the list, misogyny points are pretty much interchangeable, as shown even by this statistical switch from one year to the next. There are places in the world in which, by definition, one cannot be a feminist and patriot.
The question of who gets to judge should take into account more importantly, and pertinently to the subject, that Kyrgios has a history of assaulting women. In 2021, his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari took him to court (he pled guilty, but was not given a criminal record). Kyrgios doesn’t get to decide or declare how women feel — not those who have been close to him, and certainly not at large.
This goes beyond him, though. While the legendary tennis player Martina Navratilova has said she is “heartbroken” that the sport may accept Saudi funding, the equally celebrated Billie Jean King has announced in her capacity as its founder the Women’s Tennis Association will collaborate with the Kingdom. Things get murky wherever money is concerned. Does a Robin Hood repurposing of capital transform the nature of that exchange? Will international feminist use of that money in some way uplift the women of the country it originated from? These are complex provocations.