Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have piled pressure on the WTA by stating their vehement opposition to staging the end-of-year finals in Saudi Arabia because of human rights issues.

“Taking a tournament there would represent a significant step backward, to the detriment not just of women’s sport, but women.” they claimed.

The WTA are in talks to take the finals to Riyadh this year after a late decision to take the tournament to Cancun last season. Saudi Arabia is keen to take a bigger role in tennis and announced Rafa Nadal as an ambassador of the Saudi Tennis Federation earlier this month.

But writing a joint comment piece in the Washington Post, Evert and Navratilova claimed the proposal is “entirely incompatible with the spirit and purpose of women’s tennis and the WTA itself.”

The two former world No.1s wrote: “We fully appreciate the importance of respecting diverse cultures and religions. It is because of this, and not despite it, that we oppose the awarding of the tour’s crown jewel tournament to Riyadh. The WTA’s values sit in stark contrast to those of the proposed host.

“Not only is this a country where women are not seen as equal, it is a country where the current landscape includes a male guardianship law that essentially makes women the property of men. A country which criminalises the LGBTQ community to the point of possible death sentences.

“A country whose long-term record on human rights and basic freedoms has been a matter of international concern for decades. We can’t sit back and allow something as significant as awarding a tournament to Saudi Arabia to happen without an open, honest discussion.”