WTA legends leave lasting impression at year-end Finals in Riyadh

The second edition of the WTA Finals Riyadh saw WTA legends play a vital role off-court, as some of the game’s most beloved names returned to take part in impactful panel discussions, coaching clinics and fan engagement activities.

Here are some of the highlights.

Garcia meets students at the ECAF French school

Recently retired Caroline Garcia, who won the WTA Finals in Fort Worth in 2022, made a special appearance at the ECAF French school, meeting students and participating in a Q&A session on stage.

The WTA Foundation's Special Olympics clinic

Vania King, Alicia Molik, Jessica Pegula, Gabriela Dabrowski, Erin Routliffe, Iga Swiatek and Garcia joined Judy Murray to help stage the Special Olympics clinic on behalf of the WTA Foundation.

A meet and greet with Kerber

Former World No. 1 Angelique Kerber, runner-up to Dominika Cibulkova at the WTA Finals Singapore in 2016, was part of an extensive program of fan engagement at the King Saud University Indoor Arena.

Bartoli, Jabeur champion women's health

Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli participated in the second WTA Foundation Champions for Women’s Health Summit, alongside Tunisian icon Ons Jabeur and leading figures from the local Saudi community.

The first WTA Coaches Conference in Riyadh

Former World No. 7 and USTA head of women’s tennis Kathy Rinaldi took part in the first WTA Coaches Conference to be staged in Riyadh, which included the launch of the first Middle East Coach Inclusion initiative. Participants included Omani WTA standout Fatma Al-Nabhani and Jabeur's coach, Issam Jellali. Jellali is a program administrator with Rinaldi.

Muguruza, Halep share trophy moment with Sabalenka

WTA Finals Riyadh tournament director Garbiñe Muguruza and fellow former No. 1 Simona Halep presented year-end No.1 Aryna Sabalenka with the Chris Evert WTA World No. 1 Trophy.

Hlavackova celebrates Siniakova's historic feat

Andrea Sestini Hlavackova, the 2017 WTA Finals doubles champion and a former doubles World No. 3, joined Muguruza to present Katerina Siniakova with her year-end No. 1 trophy. It marked the fifth time the Czech has ended the season at the top, a WTA record shared with Martina Navratilova.

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