Coco Gauff says she confronted the princess of Saudi Arabia about the abuse of human rights in the nation, but she still plays there.

American women's tennis star Coco Gauff is expected to compete against fellow American Jessica Pegula in Ridya, Saudi Arabia, at the World Tennis Tour tournament on Sunday.

But while in the Middle Eastern country, Gauff also said he met with Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud to discuss the treatment of women there. Bandar Al Saud is royalty in the country because his grandfather was the Prince Sultan. He is also currently serving as the 11th Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the US

“We talked to a lot of women here in Saudi. One of them was Princess Reema. A lot of calls with her, the best way to get into this different place that women have never felt, women in the US, have never been kind. She was in,” Gauff told reporters on Friday.

“I think for me it was important, and it was one of the questions I asked because it's about LGBTQ issues, women's rights issues, how can we help with that.”

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Gauff admitted that her father is worried about her taking the trip to a country amid systematic misogyny.

“Obviously I'm a woman. I was very worried. My dad was very worried about me coming here,” Gauff said.

Gauff admitted he was “reserved” about taking part in the event because the venue is in Saudi Arabia. He mentioned the way the country treats women and people in the LGBT community.

“I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't have any reservations. Obviously, you know who I am and what I'm talking about. I was very good at all the calls I could make with the WTA. One of the things I said, when we come here, we're not just going to come here and play our tournament and go like, we have to have a real plan or a real plan in place,” Gauff said.

He compared this situation to what his grandmother went through during the integration of public schools in the US more than 60 years ago.

“I think knowing from my grandmother, merging her school, people are not going to like it, but obviously in the long run I think it's going to be better for everybody,” Gauff said.

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Coco Gauff of the United States is seen during a press conference before the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 12. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Gauff's maternal grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom, enrolled at the former all-white Seacrest High School (now Atlantic Community High School) in Florida in 1961. It was seven years after Brown v. Board of Education, a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court that divided. public schools. Odom is hailed as a popular human rights activist in his hometown of West Palm Beach, Florida.

Gauff now says he aims to leave an impact on Saudi Arabia, amid a spate of controversial human rights abuses in the country.

“Obviously I know the situation here in Saudi very well. I mean, my opinion about it is, I think that sports can open doors for people. I think that in order to seek change, you have to see it. I think that sports, for me, is an easy way to present that,” he said.

“I hope for the WTA to come here and commit themselves for the next three years to help the future Stars Program here in Saudi, introduce more Saudi women especially to sports. I think their goal is to have a million people playing tennis here by 2030. I hope that with that, people can see us, what we stand for, and hopefully that will create more equity.”

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Coco Gauff of the United States is seen between points against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their women's singles final match on Day Thirteen of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, on September 9, 2023. (Coco Gauff)

In Saudi Arabia, a male guardianship system was introduced into law in 2022, meaning women must have a male legal guardian – and they cannot choose who he is. Most of the women who supported the campaign to ban women drivers were arrested and tortured, despite the fact that the law was changed to allow women to drive.

The country also bans LGBT relationships, public displays of affection and sexual counseling, with strong social stigma, discrimination and legal consequences for LGBT people, including imprisonment, fines or the death penalty.

Saudi Arabian political columnist Raif Badawi has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for “insulting Islam” and setting up an online platform for political debate. He was to be flogged 50 times every week. In 2022, he was finally released, but faces a travel ban, meaning that after not seeing his family for 12 years, he will have to wait another nine years.

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