'if you want to point to Saudi Arabia...'- Casper Ruud speaks on the criticism towards Saudi Arabia as venue

World number 9 and 2-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud opens up on the criticism of Saudi Arabia being a controversial tennis venue. The Ice Man says it is not right to criticise the nation and there have been other controversial countries that have been visited while all the players have been on tour.

There are a lot of negative remarks made in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on hosting tennis tournaments. The venue is recently hosting the ongoing Six Kings Slam and the fans are not happy with the people complaining about the lack of human rights at the venue. This is one of the growing topics and there are a lot of players who are denying participation in the tournaments hosted by the nation.

Also read: WATCH: Rafael Nadal's practice in Riyadh before Six Kings Slam

Ruud gives his opinion

The debate around this topic will continue among the fans and the organisations, but Iceman Casper Ruud has joined in and has given his own opinion saying that it is not right to criticise the nation saying, "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." These are some bold words from the 2-time Grand Slam finalist and his take on this whole matter regarding the nation. 

This was not all as Ruud further added to the statement and naming some of the other venues where human rights are a big issue clearly stating, "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.” This is a brave and honest statement by Ruud where some might not agree with him but we still have to give him props in the end.