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San Diego 2024: Dates, draws, prize money and everything you need to know

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Courtney Nguyen - WTA Insider

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The Hologic WTA Tour returns to the United States next week for the conclusion of the spring hard-court season, as the tour goes coast-to-coast over the next five weeks. Next week, the Cymbiotika San Diego Open will enjoy its new spot in the spring calendar to host a WTA 500-level tournament at the Barnes Tennis Center.

Here's what you need to know about San Diego:

When does the tournament start?

The Cymbiotika San Diego Open is played on outdoor hard court using Wilson US Open Regular Duty balls. The tournament features a 28-player singles field and 16-team doubles field. The top four seeds receive byes. 

Main-draw play begins on Monday, Feb. 26.

The time zone in San Diego is Pacific Standard Time (GMT -8).

When are the finals?

Both singles and doubles finals will be played on Sunday, March 3. The doubles final will kick off Championship Sunday at 1:30 p.m., followed by the singles final at 4:00 p.m.

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Barbora Krecjikova swept the titles in San Diego last fall. She captured her seventh career title after defeating Sofia Kenin 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the singles final and took the doubles title with Katerina Siniakova, beating Danielle Collins and CoCo Vandeweghe 6–1, 6–4.

The Czech will not return to San Diego to defend her title. 

Who is playing?

World No.5 Jessica Pegula leads the field in San Diego. It will be Pegula's first tournament since the Australian Open. She withdrew from the Middle East swing due to a neck injury. San Diego will also be Pegula's first tournament since splitting with coach David Witt.

Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki also returns to action after receiving a main-draw wild card.

Top 8 seeds:

1. Jessica Pegula 2. Beatriz Haddad Maia 3. Emma Navarro 4. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 5. Dayana Yastremska 6. Marta Kostyuk 7. Donna Vekic 8. Leylah Fernandez

What does the draw look like?

Main draw at San Diego (WTA 500), where Jessica Pegula and Beatriz Haddad Maia are the top seeds. pic.twitter.com/N3GLFwC1TH — WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 24, 2024

What are the points and prize money on offer?

First round: 1 point/ $9,820 Round of 16: 60 points/ $13,590 Quarterfinals: 108 points/ $24,910 Semifinals: 195 points/ $51,205 Finalist: 325 points/ $87,665 Champion: 500 points/ $142,000

What other tournaments are being played this week?

The ATX Open is a WTA 250-level tournament in Austin, Texas. The tournament is played on outdoor hard court at the Westwood Country Club. 

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In the last 10 months, Katie Boulter won her first two Hologic WTA Tour titles, stormed up the rankings, and transformed into a threat in any draw. She joins the podcast to discuss how she engineered it all.

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Octagon And WTA Announce Inaugural “San Diego Open” Tournament To Debut This October

May 31, 2022.

Hologic WTA Tour Event Set for October 8-16, 2022 at Barnes Tennis Center

Octagon to Organize and Manage the New WTA 500 Tournament

The inaugural San Diego Open WTA 500 Tournament, featuring the world’s top women’s professional tennis players, will be played in San Diego this October, tournament officials have announced. The Hologic WTA Tour event will take place Saturday, Oct. 8 through Sunday, Oct. 16 at Barnes Tennis Center located at 4490 W Point Loma Blvd, San Diego, CA 92107.

The tournament will offer $823,000 in prize money and will have a 32-player singles draw and 16-team doubles draw. Qualifying rounds will be played Oct. 8-9 with Main Draw matches starting October 10 and concluding with the singles and doubles final on Oct. 16.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the return of the WTA to San Diego and the opportunity to host the inaugural San Diego Open WTA 500. The Barnes Tennis Center and our tournament partners, the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation and Octagon, are looking forward to making this an annual event that sports fans can enjoy for years to come,” said Youth Tennis San Diego/Barnes Tennis Center CEO and General Manager  Ryan Redondo , who will serve as San Diego Open Tournament Director.

“The main stadium at our tournament venue will have a capacity of 2,000 seats which gives fans a great view of the court from any seat. We are going to have a very strong draw for this event and we’re anticipating a high demand for tickets,” Redondo added. “We will be making announcements in the coming weeks and months in regards to ticket sales, player entries, and tournament volunteers.”

“The SCTA Foundation’s mission is to grow tennis in Southern California. Our thanks go out to Octagon and the WTA for allowing professional Women’s tennis to return to San Diego. The Barnes Tennis Center is the perfect place to hold this event and it is sure to energize our tennis community,” said San Diego Open Co-Chairman  Bill Kellogg .

The San Diego Open WTA 500 Tournament will mark the return of the WTA to San Diego County, which has a rich history of hosting top-level women’s tennis events dating back to 1971. The most recent WTA tournament was played in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2015.

WTA Grand Slam champions who have won titles in San Diego include  Billie Jean King, Tracy Austin, Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriati, Conchita Martínez, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Mary Pierce, Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova,  and  Samantha Stosu r.

In his two years as Youth Tennis San Diego CEO and General Manager, Redondo and his staff have transformed Barnes Tennis Center into a national tennis destination that offers summer camps, junior and adult tennis programs, outreach and education programs. Throughout the year, the 25-court tennis facility hosts a full calendar of local and regional tournaments, collegiate and high school championships in addition to Sectional and National USTA events, including the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16 & 18 National Championships in August.

After hosting the San Diego Open ATP 250 men’s tournament through a one-year license agreement with the men’s tour last October and the opportunity to showcase the San Diego Open WTA 500 tournament through a multi-year agreement with the women’s tour, Barnes Tennis Center has truly become an international tennis destination for the world’s top tennis professionals.

About Octagon:

Octagon is the preeminent talent management, integrated marketing, and creative agency in global sports and entertainment. The agency creates distinctive marketing campaigns for some of the largest brands and Fortune 500 companies across the globe and represents more than 900 of the most prominent and influential athletes, talent, and properties in the world. With more than 1,000 employees worldwide, based in 50 offices, in 20 countries, Octagon is positioned in virtually all areas of sports and entertainment.

About the WTA:

Founded by Billie Jean King in 1973 on the principle of equal opportunity, the WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sports. The WTA is one of the world’s most recognizable and high-profile sports organizations, consisting of more than 1600 players representing approximately 87 nations, all competing to earn WTA rankings points and prestigious tournament titles. The Hologic WTA Tour is annually comprised of around 50 events and four Grand Slams, spanning six continents and nearly 30 countries and regions with a global audience of over 900 million. Further information on the WTA can be found at wtatennis.com.

About Southern California Tennis Association Foundation:

Founded in 1986, the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and is the charitable arm of USTA Southern California. For three decades, the Foundation has raised money and made grants to tennis programs that serve disadvantaged youth, promising junior players, and select tennis tournaments and events.

In October 2019, the Foundation received a generous gift of $3 million dollars from an anonymous donor. The gift provided the inspiration and financial depth to propel the mission of the Foundation to the next level. Now, the primary objective is to build the Foundation into a world-class organization widely known for its impact on the people, communities, and popularity of tennis in Southern California.

The Foundation funds local programs, innovative projects, and events that increase access, availability, and participation of tennis for people of all ages, abilities, ethnicity, and economic backgrounds. The Foundation also offers scholarships that support promising young junior players who are working hard to achieve their tennis aspirations. To learn more about the Foundation please visit: sctafoundation.org.

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San Diego Open draw: Jessica Pegula returns as top seed

• James Richardson
• February 24, 2024

Jessica Pegula returns to WTA Tour action as the top seed at the San Diego Open.

Last spring, Barbora Krecjikova doubled up in San Diego.

In the singles final, she defeated Sofia Kenin 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to win her eighth career championship.

In the doubles final, Krecjikova won alongside Katerina Siniakova, defeating Danielle Collins and CoCo Vandeweghe 6-1, 6–4 to win the championship.

Krecjikova has not returned to defend her title in San Diego.

Pegula, the top seed, is leading the field in San Diego. Pegula hasn’t competed in a competition since the Australian Open.

A neck issue forced her to withdraw from the Middle East swing.

Pegula’s first competition after parting ways with coach David Witt will also take place in San Diego.

Pegula will enjoy a bye into the second round in San Deigo and is bracketed to face the winner of a clash between Varvara Gracheva and a qualifier.

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Former world No 1 Caroline Waozniacki is also in the top quarter of the draw and faces Russia’s Anna Blinkova first up.

The other seed in the top quarter is Dayana Yastremska with the No 5 facing American Carolina Dolehide to start her tournament.

In the second quarter, No 4 seed Anastasia Pavyluchenkova enjoys the first round bye.

Pavyluchenkova will take on either promising young Dane Clara Tauson or China’s Xinyu Wang who meet in the first round.

No 6 seed Marta Kostyuk will start her campaign against a qualifier and she could meet Pavlyuchenkova in the last eight if she is victorious there and against the victor of the contest between Australian Taylah Preston and Poland’s Magdelena Frech.

No 8 seed Leylah Fernandez will start her tournament against veteran Tajana Maria.

Fernandez is on a last eight collision course with American Emma Navarro who holds the No 3 seeding and enjoys a first round bye in San Diego.

Navarro will face either 2023 doubles winner Siniakova or a qualifier in her first match of the tournament.

Fernandez will need to get beyond Maria and a second round opponent drawn from the winner of the first round showdown between Lin Zhu and a qualifier.

Beatriz Haddad Maia anchors the draw as the second seed and receives the final first round bye.

Haddad Maia will open her tournament against either Lesia Tsurenko or Katie Boulter which isn’t much of a reward for her No 2 seeding.

No 7 seed Daonna Vekic starts against home hope Katherine Hui with the winner of that match going on to face the victor of an all-qualifier first round encounter.

The qualifying tournament concludes on Sunday with the main draw getting underway on Monday 26 February.

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Katie Boulter: British No 1 claims first WTA 500 tournament victory with comeback win over Marta Kostyuk in San Diego

Katie Boulter claims her first WTA 500 tournament victory with a stunning 5-7 6-2 6-2 win over Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the final of the San Diego Open; you can watch Indian Wells live on Sky Sports plus over 80 tournaments a year exclusively live on Sky Sports Tennis

Monday 4 March 2024 14:38, UK

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British No 1 Katie Boulter sealed her first WTA 500 tournament victory with a stunning 5-7 6-2 6-2 win over Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the final of the San Diego Open.

Boulter, who claimed her maiden championship on grass in Nottingham last summer, recorded her fifth straight victory over higher-seeded players at the event in California to lift the biggest title of her career.

The 27-year-old from Leicester was watched by boyfriend Alex De Minaur, who scheduled an early-morning flight after retaining his title in Acapulco at the weekend.

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"I want to say a small special thank you to my boyfriend," she said during her post-match speech. "He finished last night at midnight and I really want to embarrass him.

"He got on a 4.15 taxi this morning and six o'clock flight to be here today, so I do appreciate it."

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Boulter's rise...

Boulter now has seven wins against top 40 players in 2024 5 - Pegula 13 - Haddad-Maia 24 - Paolini 26 - Navarro 28 - Vekic 34 - Kostyuk 36 - Tsurenko Boulter becomes the ninth British woman to win a WTA title in the USA, after Wade, Barker, Hobbs, Durie, Croft, Gomer, Konta and Raducanu She had five top 100 wins in 2023 in total and no top 50 wins Boulter rises to WTA 27th and 16th in the Race for 2024

After an even start between the two, the sixth-seeded Ukrainian began to get the better of Boulter, stringing multiple games together and rapidly closing in on the opening set.

Boulter fought back to even the set at 5-5, but Kostyuk regained the momentum to wrap up the first set 7-5.

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Boulter then found her groove in the second, dominating on her first serve to clinch the set 6-2 and force a deciding third set.

The Briton continued her ascendancy into the third, claiming the first break point of the set en route to opening up a 3-1 advantage.

Boulter broke again in the seventh game and stormed home from there to close out the victory in two hours and 13 minutes.

She continued: "This week has been very, very special for so many different reasons. This one is pretty amazing, I've worked very hard for it, I played some incredible tennis all week.

"Today was a complete battle, with myself as well, because I was a little bit nervous. But I managed to get over the line, and that I'm very proud of.

"A lot of it was about me staying as tough as I possibly could mentally, and I managed to keep my cool and actually kind of went within myself and calmed myself down a lot. I think that really helped me, and then I started to relax and play through shots a little bit more."

What a week for these champs 🥳 🏆 @alexdeminaur • Acapulco 🏆 @katiecboulter • San Diego pic.twitter.com/yZ0hd6dR1H — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) March 4, 2024

Boulter has had a flying start to the 2024 season and the victory over Kostyuk guarantees she will break into the top 30 for the first time.

Kostyuk paid tribute to her family in Ukraine after the match, saying: "I don't want to make this too sad, but first of all, I want to say hello to my family back in Ukraine.

"It's been a difficult time for them and I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but there's no one who wants me to win more than they do."

Nothing stops here, you know, it's an uphill battle, and I just want to keep going and see how far I can get, because ultimately, I just want to do the best I can, and I've always asked that of myself. Katie Boulter

Overcoming obstacles

En route to claiming a second WTA event title, Katie Boulter served 13 double faults against Marta Kostyuk - the equal-most in a WTA Tour match in 2024 and the most served by a WTA event final winner this decade.

Watch repeats of how Katie Boulter won the San Diego title at 5pm and 10pm today.

Can she surprise at Indian Wells?

Taking it all in 😃 #BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/cvsqd9nyEc — LTA (@the_LTA) March 4, 2024

There will be little time for Boulter to celebrate the biggest victory of her career or the Mexican Open success of boyfriend De Minaur, with both set to play in the women's and men's editions of the WTA 1000 tournament BNP Paribas Open, which starts this week.

Boulter enters the tournament having her season record to 11 wins in 14 matches.

A key feature of her form has been the Briton's composure in crunch moments and she will fancy her chances of causing a splash in Indian Wells with her booming forehand a match for anyone right now.

Congrats @katiecboulter and @alexdeminaur !!! 🥰🏆🏆 — Donna Vekic (@DonnaVekic) March 4, 2024

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WTA San Diego: Jessica Pegula vs. Marta Kostyuk Preview; Head-to-Head, and Prediction

T he ongoing edition of the San Diego Open has delivered some high-octane performances so far at the Barnes Tennis Center. It is part of the WTA Tour 500 category and features some of the biggest names on the women’s tour competing on the outdoor hard courts. With the conclusion of the quarterfinal round fixtures, the tennis community will now get to witness some thrilling semifinal clashes.

The number-one-seeded American, Jessica Pegula, will square off against the sixth-seeded Ukrainian, Marta Kostyuk. As both the top-seeded players will be competing for a place in the championship game, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in this high-profile encounter in San Diego.

Jessica Pegula vs. Marta Kostyuk: San Diego Open semifinals preview

After a second-round defeat at the Australian Open, Jessica Pegula looks all agreed up to make amends at this outdoor hardcourt event. Entering the tournament as the number one seed, the American tennis player has breezed past the likes of Jule Niemeier and Anna Blinkova to reach the semifinals.

Marta Kostyuk, on the other hand, is coming to the tournament after her recent withdrawals from the Qatar Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships. Now that she is back on the courts in San Diego, the sixth-seeded Ukrainian player brushed aside the likes of Ann Li and Taylah Preston to reach the quarterfinals. In a three-set thriller game, Kostyuk then defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Pegula vs. Kostyuk: Head-to-Head

The semifinal match clash between Pegula and Kostyuk at this season’s San Diego Open will also mark their third meeting on the women’s circuit. In both their previous encounters at the Australian Open and Cincinnati Masters, Pegula overcame Kostyuk and currently has a 2-0 lead in their H2H record.

Prediction: Pegula to emerge victorious in the semifinals of the San Diego Open

Pegula is a six-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, and she is currently ranked number 5 on the WTA Tour. Given her vast experience and current seeding, the American tennis superstar is the favorite to not just win this semifinal game but also the title in San Diego.

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Who do you think will prevail in this blockbuster San Diego Open semifinal match between Pegula and Kostyuk? Let us know in the comments section.

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The post WTA San Diego: Jessica Pegula vs. Marta Kostyuk Preview; Head-to-Head, and Prediction appeared first on EssentiallySports .

Saudi Arabia complete deal to host WTA Finals: The background, the backlash and the money

The women’s professional tennis tour will hold its season-ending WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia for the next three years, marking the latest step in the country’s huge investment in the elite level of the sport.

WTA Tour chief executive Steve Simon made the announcement in a statement released on Thursday, following more than a year of discussion with Saudi officials. The WTA was close to a deal with Saudi Arabia last summer but pivoted at the last minute amid public pressure from some of the most prominent women in the sport. They criticized the tour for choosing money over principles and doing business in a country with a history of repressive laws against women, that criminalizes homosexuality and free speech, and that in 2018 murdered Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident journalist who had travelled to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, to get documents he needed for a marriage license.

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The WTA Finals deal is part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to become a major destination for international sports and could also signal the beginning of the country landing more official tennis events, rather than the lucrative exhibitions that have taken place there in the past. In recent years, the government has been spending millions of dollars to tempt many of the best players in the world, especially on the men’s side. In December, some of the biggest stars in the sport, including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur, played an exhibition in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and the country’s Public Investment Fund is currently bidding to host a top-level Masters tournament that would likely include both men and women as soon as 2026.

The WTA was founded half a century ago by Billie Jean King and eight other women committed to equality for women both on and off the court. With a proud history of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer champions, partnering with Saudi Arabia will, fairly or unfairly, surely garner a significant backlash from some of the sport’s biggest stars, such as the 18-time Grand Slam singles champions Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. For more than a year, leaders of the WTA Tour have tried to balance those sentiments with its needs to shore up its finances following the lean years of the Covid-19 pandemic and demands from players to receive the same prize money as the ATP Tour awards the men.

Saudi Arabia’s tennis federation and the country’s sports ministry have committed to awarding $15.25million (£12m) at the WTA Finals in 2024, with further increases in 2025 and 2026. That prize money is $6.25million more than what the top women players received at the 2023 event in Cancun and is on par with what the men will receive at the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. The Saudi contract is significantly shorter than previous deals the tour has signed with cities to host its premiere event, giving both sides the flexibility to move on relatively quickly if the tournament proves a poor fit.

“We do compete in many countries that certainly reflect different cultures and value systems,” said Steve Simon, the chief executive of the WTA Tour. “We certainly understand and respect that Saudi is something that provokes some very strong views.”

Simon said tour officials have spoken with Navratilova and Evert and understand their concerns, especially those involving women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights. “We’re sensitive to those,” he said. “We do have assurances that everyone’s going to be welcome at the finals and I don’t anticipate anything more than positive experiences. We have assurances that everybody is welcome in the country to come and compete and work and do what needs to be done. They don’t judge anyone coming in. We’ve checked with past events that have happened within the region, such as other athletes that have been there, and they’ve only had positive experiences.”

Such assurances have never been enough for Navratilova, who in recent weeks has doubled down on her position that Saudi Arabia, despite some loosening, has not done nearly enough to put women on equal footing or to decriminalize homosexuality and allow freedom of speech and expression.

“Bigger change needs to happen first,” Navratilova said in an interview last month.

Current players, too, have voiced misgivings.

“Definitely don’t support the situation there,” Coco Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open women’s singles champion, said in January. “But I hope that if we do decide to go there, I hope that we’re able to make change and improve the quality there and engage in the local communities and make a difference.”

Simon said he had received assurances that there would be opportunities for players to meet and work with young female players and athletes within the region.

“Hosting the WTA Finals is absolutely huge for the future of tennis in Saudi Arabia and growing sport in general, especially amongst our young girls,” Arij Mutabagani, president of the Saudi Tennis Federation and the first elected female president of any Saudi Arabian sports federation, said in a statement. “That’s entirely our focus, to inspire future generations of players and celebrate women’s tennis. We want to help them to believe that they too belong on Centre Court, as seeing is believing. Through the tournament, we have the potential to power the dreams of millions of young people who are looking to a bright future and a world of new opportunities.”

There is no guarantee, though, that large numbers of people will ultimately see the competition. Saudi Arabia is hardly a top tourist destination. Also, television executives have for years complained about the devil’s bargain the WTA has made in collecting lucrative payments to bring its tournaments to countries where creating interest in tennis is still a work in progress. Players get plenty of prize money but play in front of half-empty stadiums, which makes the events look unappealing and small-time to the rest of the world.

There are no guarantees that fans will show up in Riyadh, but Simon said the Saudis were as “committed as we are to build and have good attendance for the event.”

That would play into another major focus for Saudi Arabia’s recent string of investments in sports — to shift its image and economy from one built largely around petroleum into that of a modern society with broad cultural and economic interests that is open to the world.

In soccer, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) purchased the Premier League team Newcastle United in 2021 and some of the biggest names in soccer have moved to clubs in the Saudi Pro League, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Saudi Arabia is also set to host the 2034 World Cup.

In golf, Saudi Arabia pledged to spend $2billion on a new competition, LIV Golf — again attracting some of the sport’s biggest names to take part — and the country has become the home of elite boxing in recent years. Formula 1 has held races in the city of Jeddah since 2021 and there has also been considerable Saudi investment in Formula E. The country also hosted the ATP Tour’s Next Gen Finals — which pits the best young male tennis players against one another.

Saudi Arabia has passed a series of reforms in recent years aimed at making women a more substantial part of public life, including allowing them to drive, own businesses, and socialize in public with men. But it has maintained other restrictions. Women cannot marry without the permission of a male guardian and must obey their husbands if those men do not want to allow them to practice the rights the government has granted. The laws against homosexuality remain, as they do in other countries in the region. That has not prevented the WTA from holding tournaments in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Despite all that, the government and the WTA scored a major coup last June when Billie Jean King, who is gay and married to a woman, Ilana Kloss, threw her support behind the idea of the WTA holding its signature event in Saudi Arabia. King argued that engaging with countries that do not share the same beliefs is the only way to bring about change.

Beyond tennis, others have cited that argument in regards to western financial ties to China, Saudi Arabia and other countries that severely restrict basic human rights. However, especially in the case of China, crackdowns on human rights have worsened in recent years despite growing investment from the U.S. and other western nations. In addition, the policy of isolation and boycotts has a record of success. The international sports and entertainment industries largely boycotted South Africa through decades of apartheid. The country’s government finally abandoned it in the early 1990s amid worldwide pressure and a declining economy.

“We fully appreciate the importance of respecting diverse cultures and religions,” Evert and Navratilova wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post in January. “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.”

Sport, though, has since been largely unable to resist the largesse that such countries have offered and the WTA was no different. The tour has needed to find new investors and sources of cash for years, especially since Shenzhen, China, terminated its 10-year deal with the tour. That termination was in response to the tour’s decision to boycott the country for 18 months over China’s refusal to investigate whether a former top government official had sexually assaulted the former doubles player Peng Shuai.

The WTA has been reeling since the pandemic hit in 2020 when its players competed for months in largely empty stadiums. Last year, it sold a 20 per cent stake in its business to CVC Capital Partners, the Luxembourg-based private equity firm, for $150million. The last-minute scramble last fall to hold the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, outdoors during the rainy season, turned out to be disastrous. Players complained of a shoddy and unsafe court. The stands were largely empty through much of the week.

Most players initially expressed varying degrees of resistance or ambivalence to going to Saudi Arabia. In June, Sloane Stephens, a former member of the Player Council, said players needed to be certain that everyone would feel safe and the tour had yet to ensure them that was the case.

In recent months though, players have spoken about Saudi’s involvement in the sport as inevitable. They have adopted King’s line about being a part of the process of pushing for changes that can make the lives of the current generation of girls in Saudi Arabia different from those women who came before them. To generate more enthusiastic support, the WTA in recent weeks has facilitated discussions among top players and prominent women from the region, who explained how the event could fit in with the larger dynamics of a changing world.

“We’ve had some of those conversations with the leading women within the region and the players who have shared their experience and shared the significant changes that are happening and have made some suggestions that are being worked on right now,” Simon said. “I believe we’ll have a very comprehensive program.”

(Top photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for WTA)

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Matthew Futterman is an award-winning veteran sports journalist and the author of two books, “Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed” and “Players: How Sports Became a Business.”Before coming to The Athletic in 2023, he worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently writing a book about tennis, "The Cruelest Game: Agony, Ecstasy and Near Death Experiences on the Pro Tennis Tour," to be published by Doubleday in 2026. Follow Matthew on Twitter @ mattfutterman

Three San Diego concerts you shouldn’t miss this week

Our picks include Ozomatli at Snapdragon Stadium’s Thrive Park, Mackenzie Leighton’s album-release concert at Tio Leo’s, and Peggy Watson, David Beldock & Paul Beach, with Deborah Liv Johnson, at San Diego Folk Heritage

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Tequila & Taco Music Festival, featuring Shaggy, Ozomatli, Warren G and more

Ozomatli gets around!

Since launching in Los Angeles in 1995, this dance-happy band has performed around the world, including in Jordan, Nepal, Vietnam and Tunisia after being designated as official cultural ambassadors by the U.S. State Department in 2007.

“Wherever you go, music is a big part of people’s lives,” Ozomatli guitarist Raul Pacheco said in a 2011 U-T interview.

“A highlight for me was playing at a boarding school for blind students in Myanmar — and that we could even get into the country, despite the political situation they have there. If we can connect with people with music, no matter where we are in the world, we can get to a basic appreciation of who we all are.”

Ozomatli’s propulsive blend of various Latin-music styles and funk, hip-hop, rock and reggae clearly has borders-leaping appeal. Closer to home, last October saw the brassy band play the half-time show at the Las Vegas Raiders/Los Angeles Chargers game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

So far as I can determine, Ozo — as fans fondly call them — is the only group anywhere whose credits also range from playing a 2010 Boston Symphony Orchestra Pops concert, the 2019 edition of the Vans Warped Tour, the 2015 edition of the KAABOO Del Mar Festival and a free, open-air political protest gig outside the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

Ozo has performed numerous times in San Diego over the past 29 years at venues large, small and in between. The band returns Saturday to perform as part of the opening festivities at the 2024 Tequila & Taco Music Festival. Warren G headlines Saturday, followed by Shaggy on Sunday.

1 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. Snapdragon Stadium’s Thrive Park, 2101 Stadium Way, Mission Valley. $34.99-$59.99. snapdragonstadium.com/events/tequila-taco-music-festival

Mackenzie Leighton album-release concert

San Diego jazz bassist and composer Mackenzie Leighton counts Pat Metheny, Geoffrey Keezer, Holly Hofmann, Peter Sprague, Gilbert Castellanos and Kamau Kenyatta among his many collaborators.

By day, Leighton teaches bass, lectures and directs the jazz ensemble at Cal State San Marcos. By night, he is one the region’s first-call players.

On Sunday, he’ll celebrate the release “I Remember,” his second album as a band leader, with an all-ages gig at Tio Leo’s in Bay Park.

A dozen songs strong, “I Remember” is an impressive and inviting work that boasts well-crafted pieces performed with skill and elan by Leighton, vibraphonist Ian Harland, drummer Tyler Kreutel and Ed Kornhauser on electric and acoustic piano.

Leighton, who has a master’s degree in music from San Diego State, is a gifted writer whose sparkling melodic sensibilities shine on each piece on the album.

In Kornhauser, Harland and Kreutel — who perform with him at Sunday’s album-release concert — Leighton has empathetic creative partners who recognize the value of crisp, cogent interplay to best serve the songs at hand.

5 p.m. Sunday. Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Bay Park. Free. (619) 542-1462, tioleos.com/music

Peggy Watson, David Beldock and Paul Beach, with Deborah Liv Johnson

Veteran San Diego singer-songwriters Peggy Watson and David Beldock have been regular musical partners for more than a decade. They both shine whether performing folk or pop, jazz or country, sultry torch ballads or whimsical children’s songs.

The two have a gifted instrumental foil in bassist Paul Beach, whose past credits include stints with latter-day editions of The Association, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap and The Mamas & The Papas.

Watson, Beldock and Beach’s 2020 album, “Dreaming,” is an unqualified delight. So, in any musical setting, is the luminous-voiced Deborah Liv Johnson, a former San Diego troubadour who now lives in the Mojave Desert. She will open Watson, Beldock and Beach’s San Diego Folk Heritage concert Saturday in Carlsbad, where — we have a hunch — she may also sit in for a song or two with the headliners.

7:30 p.m. Saturday. Pilgrim United Church of Christ, 2020 Chestnut Ave., Carlsbad. $15 and $18 . sdfolkheritage.org

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