Casper Ruud reveals he has declined offers to go to Saudi Arabia but questions why other controversial countries are still part of tennis calendar

Casper Ruud has raised an interesting question about the way Saudi Arabia is being perceived in the tennis world during its big foray into the sport with the Six Kings Slam. The Norwegian is not a part of the tournament this week, with the six spots going to Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.

Just for participation at the exhibition tournament, all six players are assured of $1.5 million each, with the winner taking home $6 million -- the biggest payday in the history of tennis.

The tennis world, however, didn't see that as a positive thing, instead lamenting that such big prize money packages were being used by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to 'sportswash' themselves amid claims of human rights violations and anti-LGBTQ sentiments prevalent in the country.

Ruud, meanwhile, is in action at the Stockholm Open, where he has reached the quarterfinals. In a press conference at the event, the former World No. 2 was asked about his thoughts on Saudi Arabia during a chat with SpilXperten.

The three-time Grand Slam finalist revealed that he has had previous offers to play in the Middle East country but chose not to go. While Ruud seemed to agree that controversies surrounding Saudi Arabia are warranted, he questioned why the same attitude isn't extended to other countries that also have had similar human rights controversies.

For example, the Norwegian brought up China, which is a significant part of the ATP and WTA calendars post-US Open.

“I didn't get an offer from Six Kings Slam, but I have had offers in the past and I chose not to go. It is of course a controversial country in many ways, but there are also other countries that are controversial that we travel to and play in," Casper Ruud said.

“You can certainly discuss China and human rights there, but we go there every year. There was a lot of talk about Peng Shuai and what happened to her, and it's just to say that if you want to point to Saudi Arabia as a controversial country, you should also mention other countries that we're not talking about,” he added.

---

"It seems inevitable to me that Saudi Arabia will be big in tennis in the future" - Casper Ruud

While Casper Ruud himself has declined offers to go to Saudi Arabia until now, the Norwegian feels it's inevitable that the country will become big in the future in the world of tennis.

"So far I have chosen not to go there, but it seems inevitable to me that they will be big in tennis in the future and they already have the Next Gen Finals, so let's see what the future holds," Casper Ruud said in the aforementioned interview.

In addition to holding this year's WTA Finals, Saudi Arabia is also the venue for the ATP Next-Gen Finals, bringing two of the biggest events in tennis to the country already.