Daria Kasatkina insists she has been given “guarantees” over the safety of gay players in Saudi Arabia with the WTA Finals taking place in Riyadh this year.

Daria Kasatkina says she was given guarantees about her safety if she competed in Saudi Arabia.

Kasatkina is one of the only openly gay players on the WTA Tour and is hoping to qualify for the WTA Finals in Riyadh in November.

Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia, but Kasatkina was assured she would have no problems.

“I was given a guarantee that everything would be fine,” the world number 11 told BBC Sport when asked if gay players should feel comfortable taking part.

Kasatkina had already expressed concern about this at Wimbledon last summer, saying there were “many problems regarding the country”.

However, the Russian seems to have changed her mind after her victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Madrid Open.

“If I qualify, it means I’m among the top eight in the world. That’s great news for me,” she said.

“We see that the Saudis are now very interested in this sport and want to develop this sport.

“And as long as it gives an opportunity for people out there, young kids and women to actually see the sport – so they can watch it, play it, participate in it, I think it’s great.” ‘

Saudi Tennis Federation president Arij Almutabagani has made it clear that gay players would not have to act differently from the way they do in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where WTA tournaments are already held.

Kasatkina is currently competing at the Madrid Open, where she reached the round of 16.

“People can behave however they want – there’s nothing that says you can or can’t behave. You just have to understand that every country has its rules and traditions,” she said.

“It’s the same thing that happened in Dubai. How do they act in Dubai? We are the same, we are all neighbors. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates: how would the players behave there?